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■ .1 


TREATISE 


ON 


DIVINE  UNION 


J 


DESIGNED  TO  POINT  OUT  SOME  OP  THE 


INTIMATE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  GOD  AND  MAN 


IN  THE 

HIGHER  FORMS  OP  RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE. 


BY  THOMAS  C.  IIPHAM,  D.D. 

PEOFESSOR  OF  MENTAL  AND  MORAL  PHILOSOFHT  IN  BOWDOIN  COI.LROE,  MAINE. 


BOSTON: 

HENRY  V.  DEGEN, 

No.  21  CORNHILL. 


FIFTH  EDITION. 

18  57. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851, 

BY  THOMAS  C.  UPHAM, 
the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Maim 


TO  THE  HEADER. 


I 

A( 

i 

<v. 


. There  are  some  things  in  the  following  pages 
which  may  seem  difficult  to  be  understood,  and  per- 
haps still  more  so  to  be  received  ; but  all  I can  ask 
is,  that  they  may  be  read  in  that  spirit  of  simplicity 
and  prayer  in  which,  I trust,  they  have  been  writ- 
ten. I have  no  private  or  party  interests  to  sub- 
serve ; but  only  wish  to  do  what  I may  seem,  in  the 
proAudence  of  God,  called  to  do,  for  that  cause  of 
Christ,  of  God,  and  humanity,  which  is  dearer  to  me 
than  anything  else.  And  this  is  a consolation  Avhich 
always  attends  me,  — - the  full  belief  that  the  truth 
Avill  hA'e  and  do  the  good  which  is  appropriate  to  it, 
and  that  all  error  will  and  must  die. 

Some  of  the  principles  which  are  laid  down  in 
these  pages  wUl  be  found  in  other  writers.  They 
are  clearly  sustained  by  some  passages  in  St.  Au- 
gustine, and  in  other  Avriters  of  an  early  date.  They 
harmonize  with  many  views  and  expressions  which 
are  found  in  the  devout  writings  of  Thauler  and 
Arndt.  The  well-known  and  much  esteemed  trea- 
tise of  Scougal,  entitled,  “ The  Life  of  God  in  the 
Soul  of  Man,”  intimates  its  leading  ideas  in  its  title. 
The  object  of  this  writer,  although,  he  takes  a more 


4 


TO  THE  READTE. 


limited  view  of  the  subject,  appears  to  be  much 
the  same  with  that  which  is  aimed  at  in  the  present 
work.  The  view  which  is  taken  of  the  nature  of 
pure  or  holy  love,  namely,  that  in  its  basis  it  is  the 
love  of  existence,  (a  doctrine  to  which  some,  who 
have  not  reflected  much  on  the  subject,  may  have 
objections,)  does  not  essentially  differ,  I believe, 
from  that  which  is  presented  by  President  Edwards, 
in  his  Treatise  on  the  Nature  of  Virtue.  All  those 
writers,  of  various  denominations  of  Christians,  who 
hold  to  the  doctrine  of  sanctification  in  the  present 
life,  as  a thing  provided  for  and  attainable,  agree 
more  or  less  with  what  is  here  said.  But  this  would 
afford  but  little  satisfaction,  if  I did  not  fully  believe 
that  it  is  also  in  accordance  with  the  Bible. 

It  is  generally  conceded  among  Christians  that  a 
better  day  is  approaching,  and  the  great  character- 
istic of  that  day  will  be,  and  must  be,  practical  holi- 
ness. So  that  holiness  of  heart  and  life,  as  a matter 
of  personal  realization,'  is  brought  closely  home  to 
all.  Let  us,  therefore,  in  the  expressive  language 
of  Scripture,  stand  “with  our  loins  girt  about  with 
truth,  and  having  on  the  breastplate  of  righteous- 
ness.” Perhaps  we  may  be  called  to  endure  trials  ; 
but  we  should  not  forget  that  truth  emerges  safely 
from  its  conflicts,  and  that  virtue  is  not  destroyed, 
but  only  purified,  by  suffering.  AH  things  wiU.  be 
weU,  when  God  dwells  in  man. 

T.  C.  U. 

Bowdoin  College,  Jan.  1,  1851. 


CONTENTS 


PART  FIRST. 

OF  GOD,  AND  THE  DELATIONS  HE  SUSTAINS  TO  HIS  CREATURES. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  — On  the  Nature  of  Divine  Union, 1 

II.  — On  the  Eternity  of  God, 6 

in.  — On  the  Onmipresence  of  God, • 11 

IV.  — On  the  Greatness  and  Supremacy  of  God,  . . • 17 

V.  — On  the  Relation  of  the  Uncreated  to  the  Created, 21 

VI. ' — Summary  of  some  Leading  Principles, 26 

PART  SECOND. 

ON  FAITH,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN  IN  FAITH. 

I.  — On  Faith  as  an  Element  of  the  Divine  Nature, 32 

n.  — On  Faith  as  the  Constitutive  Element  of  Human  and  Divine 

Union,  38 

ni.- — On  the  relation  of  the  Work  of  Christ  to  the  Restoration  of 

Union, 42 

IV.  — The  Life  of  Faith  in  Distinction  from  the  Life  of  Desire,  ....  50 

V.  — Of  the  Union  of  God  and  Man  in  Faith,  57 

PART  THIRD. 

ON  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN 
IN  KNOWLEDGE. 

I. — All  Knowledge  necessarily  in  God, 62 

II. — Human  Knowledge  based  upon  the  Divine,  . ^ 69 

HI.  — Characteristics  of  the  Knowledge  which  is  from  God, 75 

IV.  — On  the  Gradual  Development  of  Divine  Knowledge, 81 

V.— On  the  Union  of  God  and  Man  in  Knowledge,  88 


6 


CONTENTS. 


PART  FOURTH. 

ON  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN  IN  LOVE. 

CHAP.  PAG’fd 

I.  — On  the  Nature  of  Pure  or  Holy  Love, .94 

H.  — On  the  Scripture  Declaration,  that  God  is  Love,  ......  99 

EH.  — On  the  Love  of  Existence  in  Distinction  from  the  Love  of 

Character,  105 

IV.  — Thoughts  on  the  Creation  of  Holy  Existences, 109 

V.  • — On  the  Three  Forms  of  Love  ; namely,  of  Benevolence,  of 

Complacency,  and  of  Union, 114 

VI.  - — On  the  Union  of  God  and  Man  in  Love, 119 

VII.  — On  the  Manifestations  of  Love  in  the  Form  of  Sympathy,.  . 125 

VIH.  — On  the  Religion  of  Love  as  compared  with  the  Religion  of 

Obligation, 130 

IX.  — The  Union  of  God  with  Man  in  Love  excludes  all  Idola- 
trous Love  of  the  Creatures,  135 

PART  FIFTH. 

ON  THE  WILL  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN 
WILL. 

I.  — On  the  Relation  of  the  Will  of  God  with  other  parts  of  the 

Divine  Nature,  140 

II.  — On  the  Perpetual  Identity  of  the  Divine  Will,  . . • ....  145 
HI.  — On  the  Natural  and  Moral  Supremacy  of  the  Divine  Will,  . 150 

IV.  ■ — On  the  Union  of  the  Human  and  Divine  Will, 153 

V.  — On  the  Different  Degrees  of  Union  with  the  Wffll  of  God,  . .160 

VI.  — On  Training  the  Will  to  Elabits  of  Subjection, 163 

VII.  — On  the  Relation  of  Suffering  to  Union, 167 

VIII.  — Illustrations  of  the  Relation  between  God  and  Man,  by  the 

Relative  Position  of  Man  and  Child, 173 

PART  SIXTH. 

ON  THE  UNION  OF  MAN  WITH  GOD  IN  IIIS  PROVIDENCES. 

I.  — On  the  True  Idea  of  Providence,  and  its  Extent,  183 

II. . — On  the  Law  of  Providence  in  Distinction  from  the  General 

Nature  or  Fact  of  Providence, 193 

ITT.  — On  the  Strictness  of  the  Retributions  of  the  Law  of  Provi- 
dence,   199 

IV. —•  Of  Providence  in  Connection  with  Man’s  Situation  in  Life,  . 206 


Fav(B 


CHAP. 

V.  • — On  the  Wisdom  and  Goodness  of  God,  as  displayed  in  his 

Providential  Arrangements, 212 

VI.  — On  the  Relation  of  Providence  to  Spiritual  Growth,  ....  219 

VII.  — On  the  Law  of  Providence  in  Relation  to  Simplicity  of  Spirit,  223 
■\n;il.  — Of  the  Union  of  God  and  Man  in  Providence, • . 228 

IX.  — Relation  of  Harmony  with  Providence  to  the  Order  and  Dis- 

order which  exist  in  the  World, 234 

X.  - — Illustrations  of  Interior  or  Spiritual  Solitude, 238 

XI.  — Of  the  Spirit  or  Life  which  is  the  basis  of  this  Union,  . . . 244 

PART  SEVENTH. 

UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  WORK  OF  MAn’s  REDEMPTION. 

I.  — On  the  Successive  Developments  of  the  Plan  of  Redemption,  252 
II,  — Of  the  Three  Forms  of  Redemption  — Physical,  Mental  and 

Social, 261 

m.  — Of  Union  with  God  in  the  Work  of  Mental  or  Personal  Re- 
demption,   269 

IV.  — Of  Union  with  God  in  the  Work  of  Redemption  in  relation  to 

others, 277 

V.  — Of  Union  with  God  in  the  Observance  and  the  Duties  of  the 

Sabbath, 285 

VI.  — • Of  Union  with  God  in  the  Redemption  and  Sanctification  of 

the  Family, 290 

Vn.  — Of  Union  with  God  in  the  Work  of  Civil  and  National  Re- 
demption,   315 

Vni.  — On  Union  with  God  in  the  Redemption  of  the  Arts  and 

Literature, S29 

IX.  — On  the  Nature  and  Practical  Extent  of  the  Power  of  Love,  . 345 

X.  — Principles  and  Explanations  on  the  Subject  of  Practical  Holi- 

ness,   354 

XI.  — On  the  Union  of  Man  with  God  in  the  Spirit  of  Prayer,  . . 362 
Xn.  — On  the  Relation  of  the  Character  of  Man  to  the  Happiness  of 

God,  368 

PART  EIGHTH. 

OF  THE  PEACE  OR  REST  OF  THE  SOUL  IN  A STATE  OF  UNION. 

I.  — On  the  True  Idea  of  a Soul  at  Rest,  .373 

n.  — The  Soul  in  Union  rests  from  Reasonings, . 379 

in.  — The  Soul  in  Union  rests  from  Desires, 384 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP  PAGE 

IV.  — The  Soul  in  Union  rests  from  the  Reproofs  of  Conscience,  . . 389 

V.  — The  Soul  in  Union  rests  from  Disquieting  Fears, 393 

VI.  — The  Soul  in  Union  rests  from  Conflicts  with  Providence,  . . 397 

VII.  — The  Soul  in  Union  rests  from  the  Anxieties  of  Labor,  . . . 402 

VIII. — The  holy  Soul  has  Peace,  because  what  it  wants  in  itself  it 

finds  in  God, . .409 

IX.  — The  holy  Soul  has  Peace,  because  its  action  is  natural  and 

without  efiort, 413 


X.  — The  Soul  in  Union  with  God  has  Rest,  because  it  has  passed 

from  the  Meditative  to  the  Contemplative  State,  . . . .419 
XT.  — Of  the  Spirit  and  Practical  Course  of  the  Man  who  is  at  rest 

in  God, 

XII.  — The  Soul  in  Peace  is  the  true  Kingdom  of  God, 


425 

430 


PART  FIKSl. 


OF  GOD,  m THE  RELATIONS  HE  SUSTAINS  TO  HIS  CREA 
TUBES. 


CHAPTER  I 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  DIVINE  UNION. 

All  original  life  in  God.  — The  life  which  is  not  from  God,  not  life,  but  death. 
— Of  the  union  of  God  and  man.  — The  basis  of  this  union  to  be  found 
in  God’s  nature.  — Of  the  different  kinds  or  forms  of  union. — Union  of 
pacification,  of  alliance,  of  nature. 

From  God  all  things  come.  To  God,  as  the  universal 
originator  and  governor,  all  things  are  in  subjection.  In 
ascertaining  what  God  is,  we  necessarily  ascertain  the 
position  and  responsibilities  of  those  beings  that  come 
from  God,  and  are  dependent  on  him.  The  life  of  his 
moral  creatures,  so  far  as  it  is  a right  and  true  life,  is 
a reproduction,  in  a finite  form,  of  the  elements  of  his 
own  life.  God  created  man  in  his  own  image.  In 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him.”  Gen.  1 ; 27.  The 
Saviour,  in  speaking  of  himself,  in  his  incarnate  state, 
says,  ‘^I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me.” 
John  13 : 11.  God,  in  carrying  out  and  perfecting  the 
great  idea  of  a moral  creation,  subjects  the  infinity  of 
his  being  to  the  limitations  of  humanity,  and  reproduces 
himself  in  the  human  soul. . So  that  man’s  life  may 
truly  be  described,  as  God’s  life  in  humanity. 

2.  Nor,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  terms,  can  any 


2 


DIVINE  UNION. 


thing  hut  the  Divine  Life,  or  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul, 
be  called  life.  Those  who  have  gone  astray  from  God, 
just  so  far  as  they  have  lost  the  divine  life,  and  have 
sunk  into  the  natural  life,  are  dead.  Hence,  the  expres- 
sions of  the  apostie : — And  you  hath  he  quickened, 
who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.’’  Ephes.  2 : 1. 
The  eternal  vitality,  the  breath  from  the  Infinite,  the 
life  of  God  in  the  soul,  ceases  to  be  in  them.  And  being 
dead,  by  the  absence  of  God  as  an  indwelling  principle, 
they  must  be  recreated,  or  born  again,  by  his  restoration. 
It  is  not  enough,  that  provision  has  been  made,  in  the 
death  of  Christ,  for  man’s  forgiveness.  Forgiveness,  it 
is  true,  has  its  appropriate  work.  It  cancels  the  iniquity 
of  the  past;  but  this  is  not  all  that  is  necessary.  It  is 
not  without  reason,  that  the  learned  Schlegel  commences 
his  profound  work  on  the  philosophy  of  history  by 
saying,  that  “ the  most  important  subject,  and  the  first 
problem  of  philosophy,  is  the  restoration  in  man  of  the 
lost  image  of  God.”  The  immortal  nature  must  be 
made  anew,  must  be  re-constituted,  if  we  may  so  express 
it,  on  the  principle  of  life  linked  with  life,  of  the  created 
sustained  in  the  uncreated,  in  the  bonds  of  divine  union, 

3.  In  entering,  therefore,  upon  the  important  subject 
of  Divine  Union,  by  which  we  mean  the  union  of  God 
with  man,  and  of  man  with  God,  we  must  first  direct 
our  attention  to  the  central  truth,  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made,  and  consider  what  God  is.  It  is  in 
God’s  nature,  in  what  he  is  and  what  he  requires,  that 
the  basis  of  union  must  be  placed. 

Before  doing  this,  however,  it  is  proper  to  make  a few 
remarks,  in  explanation  of  that  state  of  mind,  and  of 
that  position  of  things,  which  are  implied  in  that  union 
of  God  and  man,  which  is  the  topic  of  this  treatise. 
And  we  proceed  to  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


3 


union,  which  ought  to  be  established  between  God  and 
man,  and  which  the  Gospel  of  Christ  proposes  to  restore, 
is  not  merely  an  union  of  pacification.  Man  is  now  at 
war  with  his  Maker.  War  cannot  exist  without  divis- 
ion. Those  who  are  in  contest  with  each  other,  stand 
apart,  not  only  alienated  in  heart,  but  separated  in  posi- 
tion. It  is  thus  with  God  and  man,  while  man  remains 
a sinner.  When  man  ceases  to  contend,  he  is  brought 
into  union.  But  it  is  only  the  union  of  pacification. 
And  it  is  not  enough. 

4.  We  remark  again,  that  the  union,  which  the 
mediatorial  agency  of  the  Saviour  proposes  to  restore,  is 
not  merely  an  union  of  alliance.  The  first  step  is  paci- 
fication. The  two  parties,  God  on  the  one  side  and  man 
on  the  other,  have  entered  into  a pacificatory  arrange- 
ment, by  which  it  is  agreed  that  man  shall  cease  to 
rebel  and  to  fight,  and  God  shall  cease  to  resist  his 
wicked  attempts  and  to  punish.  In  addition  to  this, 
which  is  more  an  union  or  harmony  of  position  than  of 
feelings,  man  is  willing  to  unite  his  efforts  in  carrying 
out  the  divine  plans.  God  condescends  to  accept  these 
indications  and  movements  of  return ; — and  thus  there 
is  constituted  the  additional  union  of  alliance. 

5.  Both  steps,  it  must  be  admitted,  are  very  impor- 
tant. What  can  be  more  wise  in  man,  than  to  lay  down 
the  weapons  of  his  warfare?  What  can  be  more  pleasing, 
than  to  see  him  uniting  his  efforts  in  the  promotion  of 
God's  cause  in  the  world?  It  would  be  difficult  to  ex- 
aggerate the  beneficial  results  which  necessarily  flow  from 
these  forms  of  union.  All  who  come  to  God  must  pass 
through  them.  But,  in  passing  through  them,  they 
cannot  attain  the  highest  ends  of  their  being,  without 
going  further. 

And  the  reason  is,  that  these  two  forms  of  union, 


4 DIVINE  UNION. 

although  they  exclude  the  idea  of  hostility,  are  consistent 
with,  and  imply,  the  existence  of  two  parties;  — each 
occupying  his  own  position,  and  sustained  in  his  own 
strength.  It  is  true  they  have  ceased  to  contend.  It  is 
txUe,  also,  they  have  entered  into  alliance  with  each 
other.  But  still,  even  under  these  more  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, it  cannot  be  said  of  man,  in  relation  to  God, 
as  was  said  by  the  Saviour,  in  relation  to  his  heavenly 
Father,  “I  and  my  Father  are  one.’’  The  prayer  of 
the  Saviour,  As  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I in  thee,*^ 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us^’'  has  not  been  fulfilled. 
There  is  still  a point  of  union  which  has  not  been 
reached.  Something  more  is  necessary. 

6.  Union,  therefore,  as  we  desire  to  develop  it  in  this 
treatise,  is  not  merely  a treaty  of  peace,  nor  even  the 
closer  compact  of  alliance ; but  a combination  or  union 
of  nature ; not  the  union  of  juxta-position,  but  of  filia- 
tion ; not  the  union  of  convention,  but  the  union  of  life. 

It  is  to  this  union  that  all  who  are  born  of  God  must 
at  last  come; — not  uniting  with  God,  as  man  unites 
conventionally  with  his  fellow-man,  in  the  formation  of 
civil  society,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  but  with  that 
union  of  life  with  life  which  binds  together  the  father 
and  the  son. 

7.  Undoubtedly  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  union 
is  not  reached  at  once.  At  least  this  is  not  the  general 
method  of  God’s  operation.  God  works  gradatim^  step 
by  step;  by  the  gradualism  of  continually  developed 
law,  and  not  by  the  impromptus  and  ejaculations  of 
blind  effort,  without  |iny  wise  and  permanent  principles 
as  the  foundation  of  effort.  It  is  a great  thing  to  begin 
to  return ; it  is  a much  greater  to  complete  the  return. 
It  is  a great  thing  even  to  look  towards  God  with  feel- 
ings of  humility  and  faith.  It  is  a much  greater  to  find 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


5 


him,  encouraged  as  it  were  by  these  solicitations  of 
humble  faith,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer,  in  the 
mild  radiance  of  a reconciled  divinity; — melting  away 
and  removing,  at  every  step  of  his  approach,  some  envel- 
opment of  selfishness,  until,  the  doors  of  every  faculty 
being  open,  he  enters  his  own  purified  temple,  and  be- 
comes its  everlasting  centre. 

1* 


CHAPTER  II. 


ON  THE  ETERNITY  OF  GOD. 

The  principles  of  union  with  God,  to  be  found  in  God’s  nature.  — On  the 
e amity  of  God.  — Results  involved  in  the  fact  of  God’s  eternity.  — The 
e emity  of  God  involves  his  unchangeableness.  — God,  in  being  eternal,  the 
source  of  all  true  life.  — Remarks  on  man’s  responsibility. 

In  proceeding  in  the  investigation  of  the  subject  of 
union  with  God,  it  will  be  necessary,  if  we  wish  to  arrive 
at  satisfactory  results,  to  consider  briefly  some  of  the 
leading  elements,  or  principles,  of  the  Divine  Nature. 
We  have  already  had  occasion  to  say,  that  it  is  in  God’s 
nature,  in  what  he  is  and  what  he  requires,  that  the 
basis  of  union  must  be  placed.  It  is  obvious  that  there 
can  be  no  union  between  two  parties  who  are  at  variance, 
unless  there  be  a change  on  one  side  or  the  other,  or  on 
both.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that,  on  the 
side  of  God,  it  is  impossible  for  any  change  to  take  place, 
except  that  of  a just  correspondence  with,  the  altered 
relations  of  the  other  party.  The  perfection  of  his  posi- 
tion ensures  its  immutability.  The  change,  preparatory 
to  union,  must  first  take  place  in  man.  What  this 
change  must  be,  on  what  principles  it  must  take  place, 
in  what  directions  it  must  extend,  can  be  known  only 
by  what  we  know  of  God. 

2.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said,  that  the  powers  of  the 
human  mind  are  so  restricted  that  they  will  not  allow 
us  to  comprehend  God  fully.  Undoubtedly  our  concep- 
tion of  him,  based  partly  upon  what  is  known,  and 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


7 


hardly  less  upon  what  is  unknown,  is  exceedingly  im- 
perfect. But  its  imperfection  is  reduced,  and  we  are 
able  to  approximate  the  higher  and  more  perfect  idea  of 
God,  in  proportion  as  we  divest  it  of  the  limitations  of 
form,  time,  and  place.  God  is  not  the  possessor  or  sub- 
ject of  any  form,  which  is  essential  to  him  as  an  outward 
expression  of  his  nature,  although  he  may  be  said  to  live 
in  all  forms; — just  as  he  is  without  a fixed  and  definite 
locality,  although  he  may  be  said  to  be  present  in  all 
places.  And  as  he  is  not  limited  by  form  or  by  place, 
so  he  is  not  limited  by  time. 

3.  We  maybe  said,  therefore,  in  entering  upon  the 
remarks  which  remain  to  be  made  in  this  chapter,  to 
begin  where  there  is  no  beginning.  That  which  begins 
to  exist  has  a cause.  That  which  exists  without  a cause 
is  eternal.  God  only  is  without  cause.  God  only  is 
eternal. 

Such  is  the  great  truth,  which,  in  being  connatural  to 
the  human  mind,  may  be  said  to  be  written  there  by  the 
pen  of  the  Creator : a truth  which  is,  to  a considerable 
extent,  the  basis  of  natural  religiofi,  and  is  recognized  by 
all  sound  philosophy. 

4.  God  only  is  eternal.  Such  being  the  case,  all 
things  that  exist  out  of  himself,  are,  and  must  be,  from 
him.  To  say  that  a thing  has  its  birth  from  the  bosom 
of  its  own  causation,  is  the  same  as  to  say  that  it  exists 
without  a cause.  And  this  is  inconceivable.  All  things, 
therefore,  are,  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  in  alliance 
with  God;  — the  creatures  of  his  divine  and  infinite 
administration ; springing  up,  in  the  appropriate  day  of 
their  generation,  from  the  Uncreated  Life ; — the  Life, 
which  has  been,  now  is,  and  will  be  everlasting. 

5.  It  is  this  truth  which,  more  than  anything  else, 
makes  the  eternity  of  God  a matter  of  so  deep  interest. 


8 


DIVINE  UNION. 


It  is  ■’  - ofprnity  of  God  which  constitutes  him,  in  one  of 
the  most  essential  respects,  tlie  universal  Father.  Every- 
thing which  exists  having,  before  the  time  of  its  exist- 
ence, no  power  or  possibility  of  self-origination,  must 
have  had  its  birth  from  him.  And  we  may  go  further 
even  than  this.  The  fact  of  his  eternity,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  his  other  attributes,  involves  the  idea,  that 
all  things  are  not  only  from  him,  but  always  have 
been,  and  are  now,  in  him.  His  eternity  embraces  the 
future  as  well  as  the  present.  His  mind  sweeps  over  all, 
understands  all,  sustains  all,  regulates  all,  unites  all  in 
one.  The  successive  de^  elopments  of  being  and  action, 
which  arrest  and  occupy  the  human  mind  in  the  differ- 
ent stages  of  their  progress,  are  a present  reality  to  him. 
Their  causation  does  not  remove  them  from  that  which 
causes ; — and  time  does  not,  and  cannot,  take  them  out 
of  eternity.  They  are  what  they  are,  because  they  are 
in  him ; — and  out  of  him  they  must  necessarily  cease  to 
be.  And  thus  he  is  constituted,  by  the  very  elements 
of  his  nature,  the  circumference  as  well  as  the  centre, 
the  end  as  well  as  the  beginning,  the  universal  All. 

6.  That  man  does  not  perceive  this,  is  true.  And 
he  does  not  perceive  it,  because,  trying  to  see  in  his  own 
light,  and  not  in  the  light  which  God  himself  is  ready 
to  impart,  his  foolish  heart  is  darkenedP  None  can 
know  God,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  terms,  but  those 
who  are  fully  restored  to  him.  Separated  to  a great 
distance  by  the  repulsive  power  of  selfishness,  God, 
instead  of  being  the  universal  and  the  all,  is  not  only 
very  remote,  and  much  diminished  in  appearance,  to 
those  who  are  not  in  harmony  with  him,  but  is  even 
doubtful  in  existence.  “ The  fool  hath  said  in  his 
heart.  There  is  no  God.’’  But  it  does  not  follow,  because 
God  is  not  know  a,  that  he  does  not  exist;  nor,  because 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


9 


he  is  not  realized  as  eternal,  that  he  is  not  eternal.  Ex^ 
istence  does  not  depend  upon  perception.  “ The  light 
shineth  in  darkness,  and  the  darkness  comprehendeth 
it  not.’’ 

7.  God,  being  the  Eternity  of  things,  is  the  reality. 
By  reality,  we  mean  that  which  is  substantial  and  essen- 
tial, that  which  is  'permanent^  as  well  as  that  which  is 
just  and  good ; not  the  shadow  of  the  rock,  but  the  rock 
itself;  not  the  reflection  of  the  sun,  but  the  sun  itself ; 
the  I AM,  as  he  names  himself,  because  there  is  no  other 
adequate  expression  of  him,  the  beings  and  not  merely 
the  beginning  to  be.  His  eternity  involves  his  essen- 
tiality, hecemse,  as  we  see  no  reason  why  he  should  begin 
to  exist,  so  we  see  no  reason  why  he  should  begin  to 
change.  His  unchangeableness  is  but  a part  of  his 
eternity.  From  him,  as  the  essential,  or  the  I am,  all 
other  things  not  only  flow  out  as  from  the  original 
fountain,  but  continue  to  live  from  him  as  from  a pres- 
ent life. 

8.  Here,  then,  is  the  beginning,  the  foundaticm  prin- 
ciple, of  our  argument.  God,  in  being  eternal,  is  the 
source  of  all  things,  whatever  they  may  be,  which  have 
an  existence,  or  rather  the  appearance  of  existence,  sep- 
arate from  himself.  In  other  words,  all  things  which 
are  finite,  and  are  created  in  time,  embodied  though 
they  may  be  in  their  own  form,  and  sustained  by,  their 
appropriate  laws  of  being,  are  necessarily  from  him  and 
by  him.  And  thus,  when  we  consider  things  in  their 
origin  and  relations,  how  they  all  come  from  God,  and 
how  they  are  all  dependent  on  him,  we  shall  obtain  one 
of  the  most  important  conceptions  which  we  associate 
with  God,  namely,  that  in  his  life  is  the  true  life, 
and  that  out  of  his  life  there  is  nothing  but  death.  We 
shall  thus,  in  this  view  of  God,  and  of  the  relations  he 


10 


DIVINE  UNION. 


sustain  s to  other  beings,  realize,  in  a true  and  high  sense, 
the  import  of  those  expressions  which  are  so  often  found 
in  writers  of  great  religious  experience,  — expressions 
liable  to  be  perverted,  but  still  conveying  a great  truth 
in  a concise  form,  — the  all  of  God,  and  nothing  of  the 
creature.’’ 

9.  These  views,  undoubtedly,  when  we  come  to 
speak  of  man’s  moral  responsibility,  will  be  entitled  to 
their  just  modifications.  It  is  our  object  at  the  present 
time,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  to  present  the  general 
truth  under  consideration  in  the  strong  light  which 
properly  belongs  to  it,  unembarrassed  by  subordinate 
distinctions.  When  we  assert  that  the  doctrine  of  God’s 
eternity  involves  the  idea  that  all  things  come  from  him, 
we  of  course  mean  that  they  come  from  him  by  a /rae 
descent;  — that  they  have  their  origin  frotn  him  in  the 
line  of  a just  filiation.  If  man,  in  the  exercise  of  his 
moral  responsibility,  — forgetting  and  abusing  the  fact 
that  he  is  of  God  and  lives  his  true  life  only  in  union 
with  God,  — undertakes  to  become  a self-originator^  ^XidL 
10  do  things  in  his  own  supposed  strength  and  Wisdom, 
it  would  be  absurd  to  speak  of  such  things  as  of  divine 
origin. 


CHAPTER  III. 


ON  THE  OMNIPRESENCE  OF  GOD. 

Necessity  of  Divine  Omnipresence.  — Of  its  extent.  — Of  its  nature,  or  mode^ 
— God  present  to  everything  in  the  entireness  of  his  being.  — Relation  of 
these  views  to  the  doctrine  of  Divine  Union. 

God,  who,  in  transcending  the  limitations  of  time,  is 
eternal,  in  transcending  the  limitations  of  place,  is  also 
everywhere  present.  It  is  not  possible  for  him  to  be 
confined  to  particular  places  and  things,  to  the  exclusion 
of  other  places  and  things,  but  he  is  and  must  be  God 
everywhere. 

If  I take  the  wings  of  the  morning,”  says  the  Psalm- 
ist, “and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even' 
there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  hold 
me.”=^  And  again  he  exclaims,  “Whither  shall  I go 
from  thy  spirit,  or  whither  shall  I flee  from  thy  pres-- 
ence  ? ” 

2.  God  is  present  in  everything  we  see,  in  every- 
thing we  touch;  present  in  clouds,  and  rivers,  and 
forests ; present  in  our  bodies ; present  in  our  spirits ; 
present,  with  variations  of  manner  and  degree,  in  every 
thought  and  feeling.  Philosophy  and  poetry,  in  all  ages 
of  the  world,  and  in  all  countries,  repeat  and  confirm 
this  great  truth  of  the  Scriptures. 

Should  Fate  command  me  to  the  farthest  verge 
Of  the  green  earth,  to  distant,  barbarous  climes, 

Rivers  unknown  to  song  j where  first  the  sun 
Gilds  Indian  mountains,  or  his  setting  beams 


* Ps.  139  : 10. 


12 


DIVINE  UNION. 


Flame  on  the  Atlantic  isles  ; H is  naught  to  me, 

Since  God  is  ever  present,  ever  felt, 

In  the  void  waste,  as  in  the  city  full.” 

/ 

3.  But  we  may,  perhaps,  distinguish  between  the 
fact  and  the  nature  or  mode  of  God’s  presence.  Admit- 
ting the  great  truth  of  the  universality  of  the  divine 
presence,  the  question  still  remains,  — is  God  present 
directly  or  indirectly,  present  by  a direct  and  immediate 
personality,  or  only  by  the  subordinate  and  intermediate 
presence  and  agency  of  other  beings  ? 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  I suppose,  that  many  persons, 
who  hold  to  the  doctrine  of  God’s  omnipresence  specu- 
latively, are  apt  to  think  of  him,  notwithstanding,  as  a 
God  over  us,  without  thinking  of  him,  in  an  equal 
degree,  as  a God  with  us.  “We  behold  him,  but  not 
now;  we  see  him,  but  not  nighP^  This  was  a mistake 
of  some  of  the  ancient  heathen  philosophers,  and  was, 
perhaps,  comparatively  innocent  in  them,  who  looked 
upon  God  as  omnipresent  virtually  rather  than  really, 
as  sending  out  the  universality  of  his  presence  from  a 
local  residence  in  the  heavens,  and  as  administering  the 
affairs  of  the  universe,  in  all  its  parts,  not  personally,  but 
by  a secondary  and  distant  agency.  Some  Christians 
also,  those  who  are  beginners  in  the  Christian  life,  have 
regarded  God  in  a similar  light;  namely,  in  a character 
and  position  like  that  of  an  earthly  monarch;  beholding 
him,  in  imagination,  seated  on  a throne  of  great  splen- 
dor, but  infinitely  remote,  and  governing  his  numerous 
kingdoms  by  means  of  angelic  or  other  agencies. 

4.  This  is  certainly  an  imperfect  view  of  God’s 
omnipresence ; not  so  much  false,  perhaps,  as  defective, 
and  suited  to  certain  degrees  of  Christian  experience, 
but  not  to  its  highest  results.  The  presence  of  God, 


* Numbers  24  : 17. 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


13 


when  rightly  understood,  is  a direct  and  immediate 
presence;  a presence  which  allows  of  no  other  object  or 
agency  between  itself  and  the  object  with  which  it  is 
united.  He  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us,”  says  the 
apostle;  for  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being.”^  If  we  nGtay  be  allowed  to  illustrate  the  subject 
from  the  analogies  of  the  material  world,  we  may,  per- 
haps, say,  in  expressions  which  suggest  the  truth,  if  they 
do  not  fully  convey  it,  that  God’s  presence  constitutes, 
to  the  soul,  and  to  all  beings  and  things  which  exist,  a 
spiritual  atmosphere,  As  the  birds5n  when  they  fly, 
whichever  way  they  go,  though  they  change  their  place, 
still  fly  in  the  air,  and  everywhere  meet  the  air ; as  the 
fishes,  which  swim  in  the  seas,  everywhere  find  the 
waters,  and  are  encompassed  with  them  on  all  sides ; so 
we,  how  much  soever  we  change  our  place,  and  whith- 
ersoever we  please  to  go,  shall  everywhere  meet  with 
God.  And  God,  says  St.  Augustine,  shall  be  more  pres- 
ent within  us,  in  the  very  midst  of  our  being,  than  we 
are  ourselves.”j* 

5.  Nor  is  this  all  that  is  to  be  said  on  this  subject. 
Owing  to  the  limited  powers  of  our  minds,  and  that  con- 
fusion of  our  ideas  which  is  the  result  of  sin,  we  are  apt 
to  think  of  God  as  present  in  all  places,  not  in  the  entire- 
ness or  wholeness  of  his  being,  but  by  the  spreading  out 
ox  diffusion  of  his  being;  so  that,  in  a given  place  or  a 
given  object,  considered  as  separate  from  other  places 
and  objects,  there  is  not  the  whole  of  God  present,  but 
only  a part  of  him  in  that  particular  place  or  object. 
This  also  seems  to  be  an  error.  God  is  not  only  univer- 
sally present,  but,  wherever  he  is  present  at  all,  he  is 
present  without  separation,  present  as  God  complete,  in 
the  fulness  and  perfection  of  his  divinity.  - 

' ♦ Acts  17  : 27,  28.  f Boudon,  God  Everywheie  Present,  Ch.  I. 


2 


14 


DIVINE  UNION. 


6.  And  this  is  true  in  small  things,  as  well  as  in 
great.  God  tells  us  that  he  clothes  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
that  he  watches  over  and  protects  the  sparrow,  and  feeds 
the  young  ravens.  But  it  would  be  a mistake  to  suppose, 
after  the  manner  of  men,  who  know  only  and  feel  only  in 
particulars  and  by  degrees,  that  he  does  this  by  a part  oj 
his  nature  only^  while  the  greater  and  better  part  of  his 
thought,  and  of  his  immense  heart  of  love,  is  given  to 
other  objects.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  a God  equally 
present  to  everything,  without  distinction  of  place  or 
degree  of  existence,  — as  much  present,  in  the  extent 
and  unity  of  his  being,  to  an  insect  as  to  a man  or  angel. 
Undoubtedly  this  view,  even  with  the  explanatory  and 
very  just  remark  that  he  is  not  so  much  comprehended 
and  received  by  inferior  beings  as  by  those  which  are 
greater,  conveys  a wonderful  idea  of  God ; but  not  so 
wonderful  as  to  furnish  a reason  for  its  disbelief  and 
rejection.  The  infinite  Godhead,  stooping,  by  the  very 
perfection  of  his  nature,  condescends  to  take  an  interest 
in  all  things  he  has  made,  — to  hear  the  songs  of  his 
own  birds,  to  play  with  the  shepherd’s  flocks  as  they 
sport  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  and  to  rejoice  with 
the  young  lions  as  he  feeds  them  in  the  forest.  It  is  not 
a portion  of  God,  not  a half  or  a tithe  of  the  Divine 
Existence,  as  our  imperfect  conceptions  of  things  are 
apt  to  suppose,  but  a whole  God,  — God  in  the  infinity 
of  his  perfections,  — that  watches  over  and  rejoices  in 
them. 

So  that  it  is  necessary  to  add  to  the  idea  of  the  univer- 
sality of  his  presence  that  of  the  directness  and  intimacy 
of  his  presence,  and  also  that  of  the  fulness  and  perfec- 
tion of  his  presence. 

7.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  this  view  of 
God’s  omnipresence  is  important  in  explaining  the  facts 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


15 


and  relations  of  Divine  Union.  The  physical  union,  if 
these  views  are  correct,  is  already  complete.  God  cannot 
have  locality,  and  man  cannot  be  without  it.  And  man’s 
locality  is  always  in  God,  although  his  character  may 
not  harmonize  with  his  position.  And  here  is  the  source 
of  his  unhappiness.  To  be  in  God  by  physical  position, 
and  out  of  God  by  divergency  of  character,  is  to  be  the 
subject  of  the  greatest  discord  and  misery.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  we  add  harmony  of  character  to  harmony  of 
place,  if  we  add  to  the  embrace  of  God’s  physical 
presence  the  higher  and  nobler  embrace  of  his  moral 
perfections,  then  we  have  realized  the  true  elements  of 
divine  union,  and  Have  become  one. 

8.  O Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known  me. 
Thou  knowest  my  down-sitting  and  mine  uprising; 
thou  understandest  my  thought  afar  off.  Thou  com- 
passest  my  path  and  my  lying  down,  and  art  acquainted 
with  all  my  ways.  For  there  is  not  a word  in  my 
tongue,  but  lo ! O Lord,  thou  knowest  it  altogether. 
Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and  before,  and  laid  thy 
hand  upon  me.”=^ 

Those  whose  souls  are  so  far  renewed  that  they  can 
be  said  to  have  entered  into  this  state  of  union,  know 
practically  the  import  of  these  remarkable  expressions. 
At  all  times  and  in  all  varieties  of  situation,  they  not 
only  have  an  intellectual  conviction,  but  may  be  said  to 
know,  by  the  intimations  of  the  heart  as  well  as  by 
reasoning,  that  God  is  with  them.  In  company  with 
others  and  in  solitary  places,  in  their  daily  walks  and  in 
seasons  of  rest  and  of  innocent  pleasure,  in  every  situa- 
tion in  which  they  can  by  any  possibility  be  placed,  they 
have  evidence  of  God’s  nearness  and  intimacy.  And  it 


* Ps.  139  : 1,  et  seq. 


16 


DIVINE  UNION. 


adds  to  their  happiness  to  know,  that  he  is  present  to 
them  in  the  fulness  and  perfection  of  his  nature, — just 
as  much  so  as  if  they  were  the  only  beings  in  the  uni- 
verse. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ON  THE  GREATNESS  AND  SUPREMACY  OF  GOD. 

Greatness  predicated  of  God  alone.  — The  greatness  of  God  original,  self-sus 
tained,  eternal.  — Of  the  supremacy  of  God.  — Relation  of  these  views  to 
man. 

It  is  a principal  object,  in  this  part  of  our  work,  to 
obtain  some  correct  and  impressive  views  of  the  nature 
of  the  Divine  Existence,  in  order  to  learn  how  man  has 
separated  himself  from  a state  of  union  with  God,  and 
also  to  learn,  in  the  methods  and  results  of  his  departure, 
the  necessity,  the  methods,  and  the  results,  of  his  return. 
The  remarks  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  make, 
although  it  may  not  be  entirely  obvious  at  first,  will  be 
found,  in  the  issue,  to  have  an  intimate  relation  with  tne 
great  subject  before  us.  Accordingly,  we  proceed  from 
the  consideration  of  the  Eternity  and  Omnipresence  of 
God,  to  a few  remarks  on  his  Supremacy. 

2.  “God  only  is  great.”  Such  were  the  concise 
but  triumphant  expressions  with  which  Massillon,  the 
distinguished  religious  orator,  commenced  his  funeral 
discourse,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Louis  XIV. 

Never  was  a more  correct  sentiment  uttered  by  human 
lips.  And  never  was  there  a more  appropriate  occasion 
of  its  utterance.  Who  would  dare  to  appropriate  the 
epithet  great  to  himself,  when  he,  who  had  received 
it  from  a nation’s  voice  for  half  a century,  had  fallen  at 
the  slightest  touch  of  Providence? — ^the  crown  removed 
from  his  temples,  the  sceptre  wrested  from  his  hands, 
and  his  form  changed  to  dust  and  ashes.  That  certainly 
2=^ 


18 


DIVINE  UNION. 


was  a suitable  time  for  a minister  of  God,  whose  business 
it  is  to  measure  the  human  by  the  divine,  and  to  adjust 
the  temporary  to  the  eternal,  to  detach  an  epithet,  which 
has  so  often  been  wrongly  placed,  from  its  human  appli- 
cation, and  to  append  it  to  God  alone, 

Massillon,  in  the  utterance  of  this  important  sentiment, 
stands  approved  by  philosophy,  as  well  as  by  theology, 
by  the  decisions  of  human  reason,  as  well  as  by  inspira- 
tion. It  is  a sentiment  which  commends  itself,  not  only 
deductively,  but  almost  to  man’s  intuitive  perceptions, 
that  there  is,  and  can  be,  but  one  absolute  greatness. 
All  other  greatness,  if  it  be  possible  that  there  can  be  any 
other  greatness,  is  greatness  only  by  comparison.  It  is 
the  greatness  of  the  finite  estimated  by  the  finite  ; of  the 
destructible  weighed  in  the  balance  of  the  destructible; 
the  greatness  of  angel  measured  by  angel,  of  man  mea- 
sured by  man ; but  it  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  the  greatness 
of  God.  The  greatness  of  God  differs  from  all  other 
greatness,  in  that  it  is  greatness  absolute^  and  not  great- 
ness hy  comparison, 

3.  Absolute  greatness,  in  distinction  from  every  other 
thing  to  which  the  epithet  great  can  be  applied,  is  a great- 
ness which  is  original.  It  cannot  be  said  of  that  which 
is  absolute,  that  it  begins.  It  has  its  origin  and  its  life  in 
itself.  Its  name,  like  that  of  God  himself,  is,  I Am  ; that 
which  exists,  not  that  which  begins  to  exist;  that  which 
lives,  not  that  which  begins  and  which  is  made  to  live. 
No  being  can  say  of  it,  that  it  is  a gift.  No  being  can 
claim  homage  for  it,  as  the  giver.  As  there  is  nothing 
from  which  it  comes,  we  can  only  say  of  it,  that  it  is. 
Self-existence  is  its  first  attribute. 

4.  Absolute  greatness,  as  it  is  self-originated,  so  it  is 
seTf^sustained,  It  stands,  self-centred,  without  the  aid 
of  exterior  supports.  If  it  depended  upon  things  exterior 


CH  RACTER  OF  GOD. 


19 


to  itself,  if  it  rested  upon  a pedestal  which  other  hands 
had  placed  beneath  it,  it  would  be  subject  to  contingency. 
More  or  less  of  uncertainty  would  surround  it  every 
moment.  As  it  asks  no  one’s  consent  that  it  may  live, 
so  it  fears  no  one’s  opposition.  The  power  which  pro- 
tects it,  is  inherent  in  its  own  nature. 

5.  Absolute  greatness  is  eternal.  As  there  was  no 
reason  why  it  began,  so  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
end.  The  eternity  of  the  past  has  its  counterpart  in 
the  eternity  of  the  future.  And  it  lives  in  all  time  to 
come,  because  it  has  lived  in  all  time  past.  To  say  that 
there  is  some  element  of  decay  in  God’s  greatness,  would 
be  the  same  thing  as  to  say  that  there  is  some  element 
of  decay  in  God  himself. 

6.  In  all  these  particulars,  all  other  greatness  fails. 
That  which  is  called  human  greatness  begins  in  time, 
and  is  terminated  when  it  has  hardly  begun  to  exist. 
Monuments  are  erected  to  its  memory,  but  monuments, 
as  well  as  that  of  which  they  are  the  memorial,  pass 
away.  In  the  true  sense  of  the  terms,  therefore,  God 
only  is  great.  And  he  is  so,  because  in  him  greatness 
has  neither  beginning  nor  end,  but  having  the  true  life 
in  itself,  it  is  imperishable.  It  needs  no  pyramid  to  per- 
petuate the  name,  when  the  substance  is  gone.  It  is 
itself  its  own  monument,  its  own  inscription.  Absolute 
greatness  belongs  to  God  alone. 

7.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  the  greatness 
of  God,  in  being  absolute,  is  also  supreme;  and  that 
God  is  truly  God  over  all.  If  it  is  a greatness  self-origi- 
nated, if  it  is  a greatness  self-sustained  and  eternal,  if  it 
is  a greatness  which  does  not  exist  by  comparison,  nor 
admit  of  comparison,  but  exists  out  of  comparison,  and 
above  comparison,  it  is,  of  course,  supreme.  It  stands 
not  more  alone  in  its  origin  and  its  perpetuity,  than  it 
does  in  its  supremacy. 


20 


DIVINE  UNION. 


8.  And  if  God  alone  is  great,  if  God  only  is  supreme, 
then  those  only  of  all  his  creatures  can  truly  be  called 
great,  even  in  the  mitigated  and  subordinate  sense  of  the 
term,  who  repeat  in  their  own  existence  the  true  reflec- 
tion, on  a limited  scale,  of  that  original  and  unlimited 
greatness,  which  has  its  source  and  perfection  in  him 
alone.  Never  could  there  be  a greater  error  than  that 
committed  by  man,  when  he  dissociated  himself  from 
the  I Am.  Every  man,  in  the  sphere  which  is  allotted 
him,  be  it  more  or  less,  if  he  scatters  light  and  not  dark- 
ness, if  he  is  a renovated  and  true  man,  and  not  a fallen 
and  wicked  man,  must  be  what  he  is  because  he  is  in 
and  OF  God.  Hence  it  is  a truth,  which  cannot  be  too 
often  repeated,  that  we  are  great  only  as  we  are  great 
in  him  from  whom  we  came. 

9.  Oh  that  men  knew  what  God  is!  With  such 
views  as  have  now  been  expressed,  we  are  in  a way  to 
arrive  at,  and  to  solve,  one  of  the  important  problems  of 
existence,  namely,  to  annihilate  the  idol  and  the  super- 
scription of  false  greatness,  and  to  seek  and  to  rest  in 
the  greatness  which  is  true.  Happy  is  the  man  who  is 
enabled,  by  divine  assistance,  to  adjust  himself  to  the 
truth.  He  feels  himself  to  be  in  the  truth  only  when 
he  feels  himself  to  be,  not  the  source  of  things,  but  the 
recipient ; — standing  with  his  face  towards  the  Infinite, 
that  its  divine  rays  may  fall  upon  him,  and  clothe  him 
with  its  celestial  beauty.  Such  an  one,  realizing  that 
all  which  he  has.  whatever  may  be  its  appearance  in 
the  eyes  of  men,  is  from  God,  and  from  God  alone, 
sympathizes  with  the  devout  language  of  the  Psalm- 
ist: — Thou  art  great,  O Lord  God,  for  there  is  none 
like  the^  neither  is  there  any  God  besides  thee.’’  ^ 


* 2 Sam.  chap.  7 : 22. 


\ 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON  THE  RELATION  OF  THE  UNCREATED  TO  THE  PREATED. 

God  the  true  source  of  all  power. — Moral  freedom  one  of  God’s  gifts.  — Of 
the  true  exercise  of  moral  freedom.  — Of  the  dangers  of  a wrong  moral 
choice.  — None  good  but  one. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  eternity  of  God.  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  intimatCj  that  everything  which  is  created 
necessarily  has  a beginning.  But  this  is  not  all.  Hav- 
ing no  beginning  in  itself,  but  in  that  which  is  out  of 
itself,  everything  which  is  created  owes  to  that  princi- 
ple of  causation  from  which  it  came,  not  only  its  being, 
but  its  powers.  All  existence  and  all  power  are  in  God ; 
and  everything  which  is  not  God  has  its  existence  and 
its  power  from  him. 

2.  These  views  indicate,  in  general  terms,  the  rela- 
tion of  the  created  to  the  uncreated ; the  relation  of  the 
creatures  of  God  to  God  the  Creator.  It  is  not  only  a 
relation  which  implies  a beginning,  on  the  part  of  the 
creatures,  but  a relation  which  implies  their  continued 
dependence.  The  created  not  only  come  from  God,  but 
receive  from  God ; not  only  derive  their  existence  from 
him,  but  everything  else.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  God, 
sustaining  the  relation  correlative  to  that  of  beginning 
and  reception,  is  not  only  the  beginner  of  existence,  but 
IS  the  continual  supplier  of  its  wants.  It  is  not  possible, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  that  a being  who  has  a beginning 
out  of  himself,  should  ever  have  anything  in  himself ; 


22 


DIVINE  . N I O N . 


that  is  to  say,  by  his  own  originating  power.  Whatever 
he  has  is  given.  This,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  one  of  those 
first  truths,  which,  in  being  suggested  by  nature  herself, 
are  above  and  beyond  reason.  Created  beings  are  not 
only  created,  which  is  a distinct  act,  and  a distinct  event, 
but  in  all  time  subsequent  to  their  creation,  (repeating 
here  the  sentiment  which  has  already  been  expressed,) 
they  are,  and  can  be,  only  what  they  have  power  to  be 
from  God. 

3.  Let  it  be  remembered,  then,  as  a first  truth  in  the 
doctrines  of  religious  experience,  that  in  all  things  God 
is  the  giver.  Among  the  gifts  which  thus  flow  from 
God,  is  that  high  and  invaluable  one  of  moral  freedom. 
In  the  exercise  of  that  moral  power,  which  is  involved 
in  the  possession  of  moral  freedom,  men  sometimes  speak 
of  it  as  their  own  possession,  their  own  power  ; but  they 
cannot,  with  any  propriety,  speak  of  it  as  a power  which 
is  not  given.  The  gift  of  freedom  involves  the  possibil- 
ity of  walking  in  the  wrong  way,  but  it  does  not  alter 
the  straightness  and  oneness  of  the  trqe  way.  The 
laws  of  holy  living,  although  they  are  and  can  be  ful- 
filled only  by  those  who  are  morally  free,  are,  neverthe- 
less, unalterable.  Founded  in  infinite  wsdom,  they 
necessarily  have  their  permanent  principles;  and  Ggd 
himself,  without  a deviation  from  such  wisdom,  cannot 
change  them.  In  the  exercise  of  their  moral  choice, 
it  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  men  may  endeavor  to  live 
in  some  other  way,  and  to  walk  in  some  other  path, 
than  that  which  God  has  pointed  out ; but  it  does  not 
follow  from  this  that  there  is,  or  can  be,  more  than  one 
true  way.  God,  in  imparting  to  men  the  gift  of  moral 
freedom,  has  said  to  them,  Life  and  death  are  before 
you;  but  he  has  not  said,  Ye  can  find  life  put  of  myself. 
He  tells  them,  emphatically,  there  is  but  one  Fountain ; 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


23 


but  having  given  them  the  freedom  of  choice,  he  announ- 
ces to  them,  also,  that  they  may  either  rest  confidingly 
on  his  own  bosom,  and  draw  nourishment  from  that 
eternal  fountain  of  life  which  is  in  himself,  or  may 
seek,  in  the  exercise  of  their  moral  freedom,  the  nour- 
ishment of  their  spiritual  existence  from  any  other 
supposed  source  of  life,  with  all  the  terrible  hazards 
attending  it. 

4.  But  if  God  is  the  only  true  Fountain,  those  who  seek 
any  other  fountains  will  find  them  broken  cisterns, 
that  can  hold  no  water.”  When  moral  beings,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  moral  option,  choose  to  seek  their  sup- 
port and  life  from  any  source  separate  from  God  himself, 
they  necessarily  die.  It  cannot  be  otherwise.  Created 
beings,  as  we  have  already  seen,  are  necessarily  depend- 
ent on  their  Creator.  They  have  no  power  of  making 
that  which  is  not  already  made; — no  power  of  absolute 
origination.  It  is  true  they  have  the  power  of  choice, 
but  they  must  choose  among  the  things  that  are.  They 
must  either  choose  God,  or  that  which  is  not  God.  If 
they  choose,  as  their  source  of  life  and  of  supply,  that 
which  is  not  God,  they  look  for  help  to  that  which  has 
no  help  in  itself,  for  life  to  that  which  has  no  life  in 
itself,  much  less  help  and  life  for  another.  They  ask 
‘‘for  bread,  and  they  find  a stone;”  they  ask  “for  a 
fish,  and  they  find  a serpent.”  They  are  compelled  to 
say,  in  the  language  of  the  prodigal  son,  my  father’s 
hired  servants  “ have  bread  enough  and  to  spare,  but  I 
perish  with  hunger.” 

Their  freedom,  invaluable  as  it  is,  does  not  give  them 
the  power  of  doing  or  of  enduring  impossibilities,  of 
drinking  without  water,  of  eating  without  food,  of 
receiving  while  they  turn  aside  and  reject  the  hand  of 
the  great  Giver. 


24 


DIVINE  UNION. 


5.  It  is  a truth,  then,  which  cannot  be  too  often 
I^peated,  and  too  earnestly  impressed,  (a  truth  neces- 
sarily resulting  from  the  relation  of  the  created  to  the 
Uncreated,)  that  there  is  and  can  be  but  one  source  of 
life.  This  is  one  of  the  great  truths  which  the  Saviour 
came  to  illustrate  and  confirm.  It  is  in  man’s  power, 
as  a moral  agent,  as  we  have  already  seen,  to  turn 
from  God,  because  God  has  given  him  power  to  do  so, 
and  to  seek  support  somewhere  else.  But  the  neces- 
sary result  is,  if  there  be  but  one  source  of  spiritual 
support,  that  he  finds  only  deprivation  and  hunger, 
instead  of  a full  supply,  and  death  instead  of  life. 
For  wisdom  he  finds  ignorance,  for  strength  weak- 
ness, for  confidence  fear,  for  purity  impurity,  for  love 
hatred,  for  joy  remorse,  and  for  hope  despair.  God, 
in  the  fulfilment  of  his  plan  of  supporting  him  in  exist- 
ence as  a moral  being,  sustains  and  will  continue  to 
sustain  him  physically.  In  other  words,  making  a dis- 
tinction between  the  material  and  mental  man,  he  does 
not  deprive  him  of  a natural  or  physical  existence.  But 
the  life  which  he  thus  lives  will  be,  and  can  be,  only  the 
receptacle  of  death.  It  will  be  the  physical  or  natural 
repository  of  a moral  corruption ; a living  and  moving 
sepulchre.  It  cannot  be  otherwise.  He  has  nothing  to 
live  upon  but  himself,  or  creatures  as  poor  as  himself. 
And,  in  the  continual  exhaustion  of  that  which  is  not 
only  limited  in  its  supply,  but  poisonous  in  its  nature, 
he  lives  a horrid  and  ghastly  existence,  and  pines  away 
with  a death  that  never  dies. 

Adorable  Jehovah ! Source  of  all  good,  truth,  and 
life,  when  will  men  discover  the  truth  of  the  blessed 
Saviour’s  words,  There  is  none  good  but  one,  that  is, 
God or  say,  with  one  of  thine  ancient  servants, 
'‘There  is  none  holy  as  the  Lord — for  there  is  none 


CHARACTER  OF  GOD. 


25 


beside  thee  7^’.^  When  will  they  learn  that  man,  in 
his  natural  state,  is  “of  the  earth,  earthy;”  and  that,  in 
the  things  which  are  earthly  and  perishing,  they  cannot 
find  an  adequate  support  for  that  which  is  destined  for 
immortality?  When  will  they  discover  that  from  thee 
all  come;  and  that  in  thee  all  that  live  the  true  life 
must  live ; that,  by  an  eternal  law,  which  is  not  more 
obvious  from  revelation  than  from  the  light  of  reason, 
he  who  has  not  life  has  death,  and  he  who  has  not  God 
in  his  heart  has  Satan  ? 


*1  Sam.  2:  2.  Mark  10:  17 

3 


CHAPTER  yi. 


SUMMARY  OF  SOME  OF  THE  LEADING  PRINCIPLES  COMING 

UNDER  EXAMINATION  IN  THE  PRESENT  WORK. 

0 

We  propose  here  to  give  briefly  a summary  of  some 
of  the  leading  principles  involved  in  the  preceding  chap-  ^ 
ters,  and  which,  in  connection  with  others  flowing  out 
of  them,  and  perhaps  equally  important,  will  be  illus  • 
trated  in  various  ways  in  the  chapters  which  follow. 

I.  ^ 
God  has  life  in  himself.  He  has  it,  but,  because  he  is 

eternal,  he  did  not  and  could  not  originate  it.  It  is  not  % 
life  by  creation,  but  life  by  nature.  And  as  there  is  but 
one  eternal  and  uncreated  life,  all  other  life  is,  and  must 
derived  from  the  life  which  is  in  God, 

II. 

As  man’s  life,  at  his  first  creation,  was  not  original 
and  uncreated,  it  must  have  come  from  God.  And  the 
life  which  comes  from  God  is  the  true  life ; and  all  life 
which  does  not  come  from  this  divine  source,  is  false. 

So  that,  when  man  ceased  to  live  in  God,  he  ceased  to 
possess  any  principle  of  life  which  was  true.  From  that 
time  onward,  except  so  far  as  he  is  restored  by  the  gift 
and  infusion  of  a new  life,  he  has  only  the  semblance  of 
vitality,  but  not  the  true  vitality ; the  form  of  life,  but 
the  reality  of  death.  The  true  life,  the  life  of  God,  is 
not  in  him. 

ni. 

Those  who  have  fallen  from  the  true  life,  and  have 
become,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  ^‘dead  in  tres- 


SUMMARY  OF  PRINCIPLES. 


27 


passes  and  sins,”  cannot  restore  themselves.  Death,  or 
the  false  life  of  sin,  cannot  originate  the  true  life  of  holi- 
ness. Those,  however,  who  are  in  this  state  may  be 
made  to  understand  the  misery  of  their  situation.  Their 
power  seems  to  be,  not  to  restore  themselves,  but  merely 
to  perceive  their  misery,  and  to  utter  the  supplication  of 
their  anguish  and  necessity. 

When  those  who  are  fallen  lift  up  their  cry  to  God,  he 
hears  them.  It  is  not  in  the  divine  nature  to  do  other- 
wise. Unable  to  help  himself,  but  able  nevertheless  to 
utter  t^  cry  of  his  helplessness  and  anguish,  the  unre- 
generafe  sinner  finds  help  in  God.  As  the  true  life  is 
God’s  life,  diffused  from  himself  into  all  those  who  are 
born  into  his  image,  the  restoration  of  the  divine  life  in 
the  soul  is  necessarily  the  work  of  the  Infinite  and  not 
of  the  finite,  the  work  of  God  and  not  of  the  creature. 

V. 

All  true  life  is  from  God ; — both  the  original  life  before 
man  fell,  and  the  life  of  the  “new  birth,”  when  he  is 
restored  from  his  fall.  But  when  we  speak  of  the  resto- 
ration of  fallen  man  as  the  gift  of  God,  we  ought  always 
to  add  that  it  is  a gift  through  Jesus  Christ,  And  it  is 
in  consequence  of  this  that  the  work  is  sometimes 
ascribed  directly  to  Christ,  as  well  as  to  God.  “In  him,” 
says  the  evangelist  John,  when  speaking  of  Christ,  “ was 
life^  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men.” 

VI. 

In  all  cases,  whatever  may  be  the  channel  of  commu- 
nication, God  is  the  original  Giver.  One  of  his  great 
gifts  to  man,  — a gift  which  was  impgfrted  at  his  first 
creation,  and  has  never  been  withdrawn,  — is  moral 
FREEDOM.  Our  heavenly  Father  has  seen  fit  to  leave  it 
to  our  own  option,  — a thing  to  be  decided  by  ourselves, 


28 


DIVINE  UNION. 


— whether  we  will  or  will  not  accept  himself  as  the 
great  and  only  Giver,  That  is  to  say,  the  choice,  and 
the  only  choice,  which  is  allowed  to  man,  or  to  other 
moral  beings,  is  the  choice  of  life  from  God  or  of  life 
without  him;  — the  choice  of  living  with  God  present 
and  operative  in  the  soul,  or  of  living  with  God  excluded 
from  it.  It  was  not  possible,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
perceive,  that  any  other  choice  should  be  given. 

vn. 

If,  accordingly,  in  the  exercise  of  moral  freedom,  and 
in  the  spirit  of  entire  consecration,  we  renounce  the  life 
of  the  creature,  and  accept  the  life  of  God,  by  opening 
our  hearts  to  the  free  and  full  entrance  of  his  grace,  then 
he  will  become  the  true  operator  in  the  soul,  and  will 
give  origin  to  all  spiritual  good.  It  is  then  that  God 
works  in  the  soul ; and,  so  far  as  this  is  the  case,  it 
can  be  said  of  such  an  one,  in  the  language  which 
the  Saviour  applied  to  himself:  — “The  words  that  1 
speak  unto  you  I speak  not  of  myself  y hid  the  Father 
that  dwelleth  in  me,  he  doeth  the  works,^^ 

vin. 

The  great  truth  of  man’s  moral  agency,  without 
which  he  could  not  be  man,  but  must  be  something 
lower  than  man,  is  thus  recognized  and  established  by 
his  own  voluntary  acquiescence  in,  and  acceptance  of, 
the  divine  operation. 

IX. 

Man’s  moral  agency,  when  he  exists  in  full  union 
with  God,  either  in  his  original  creation  or  in  his  resto- 
ration to  God  through  Christ,  is  felt,  not  so  much  in 
guiding  himself  as  in  harmonizing  with  God’s  guidance ; 

— not  so  much  in  originating  knowledge  and  holy  atfec- 
tions,  as  in  rejecting  all  confidence  in  himself  and  accept- 
ing God  as  his  teacher : — in  a word,  not  so  much  in 


SUMMARY  OP  PRINCIPLES.  29* 

willing  or  purposing  to  do  whatever  he  may  he  called  to 
do  hy  independent  action^  as  in  ceasing  from  every- 
thing which  is  not  God,  and  in  desiring  and  willing  to 
let  God  work  in  him. 

. ^ X.  ■ ■ ■ 

At  the  same  time  it  is  true,  that  God,  in  thus  taking 
possession  of  the  mind  and  becoming  its  inspiration, 
harmonizes  with  the  mind,  not  less  really  than  the  mind 
harmonizes  with  himself ; namely,  by  originating 
thought,  feeling,  and  purpose,  through  the  medium  of 
their  appropriate  mental  susceptibilities  and  laws.  That 
is  to  say,  if  it  is  true  that  God  acts,  and  thereby  consti- 
tutes a vital  principle,  it  is  also  true  that  God  acts  in  the 
moral  and  responsible  man;  and  not  only  acts  m the 
man,  as  the  locality  and  the  subject  of  action,  but  also 
by  means  of  the  man,  as  the  voluntary  and  concurrent 
instrument  of  action. 

XI. 

It  is  thus  that  God,  acting  upon  the  basis  of  man’s 
free  consent,  becomes  the  life  of  the  soul;  and  as  such 
he  establishes  the  principle  of  faith,  inspires  true  knowl- 
edge, gives  guidance  to  the  will,  and  harmonizes  the 
inward  dispositions  with  the  facts  of  outward  ].;rovidence. 
In  a word,  God  becomes  the  Givery  and  man  the  happy 
recipient.  God  guides,  and  man  has  no  desire  or  love 
but  to  follow  him. 

From  that  important  moment,  which  may  well  be 
called  the  crisis  of  his  destiny,  man,  without  ceasing  to 
be  morally  responsible,  harmonizes  with  his  Maker.  If 
he  thinks,  and  feels,  and  acts,  by  means  of  thought,  feel- 
ing, and  action  which  he  has  from  another  source,  it  is 
because  he  adopts  that  other  source  of  knowledge,  feel- 
ing and  action  as  his  own.  The  two  principles  of  life, 
the  human  and  divine,  are  thenceforth  united.  The 
3=^ 


30 


DIVINE  UNION, 


prayer  of  the  Saviour  is  answered : — thou^  Father 
art  in  me  and  I in  Thee^  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  tis? 

XII. 

Those  who  are  thus  in  union  with  God  are  necessa- 
rily in  union  with  all  that  God  desires  and  purposes  to 
do.  Especially  are  they  in  union  with  that  great  plan 
of  redemption  which  the  Bible  unfolds.  They  can  say 
with  the  Saviour : — “iliy  Father  worketh  hitherto^  and  I 
work.^^ 

It  would  be  a great  error  to  suppose  that  they  are 
inactive,  because  they  have  their  thought,  feeling,  and 
action  from  God.  On  the  contrary,  having  those  dispo- 
sitions from  God,  which  keep  them  in  harmony  with 
himself,  they  necessarily  stand  in  the  attitude  of  the  most 
harmonious  and  perfect  obedience ; ready  to  do  and  to 
suffer  whatever  their  heavenly  Father  requires  of  them. 

xm. 

In  particular,  the  doctrines  of  divine  union  agree  with 
and  sustain  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  it  is  laid 
down  in  the  Scriptures.  Not  only  patriarchs,  and  proph- 
ets, and  apostles,  and  other  good  men,  were  taught  and 
guided  by  the  inbreathings  and  teachings  of  a higher 
Power,  but  also  the  Son  of  God  himself ; on  whom  the 
Holy  Ghost  descended  visibly,  and  of  whom  it  is 
repeatedly  said,  he  was  “led  by  the  Spirit.”  The  Evan- 
gelist Luke,  alluding  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  to  the 
visible  ascent  of  the  Saviour,  says,  “ He  was  taken  up, 
after  that  he,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  had  given  com- 
mandments unto  the  apostles  whom  he  had  chosen.” 
And  this  remarkable  declaration  accords  entirely  with 
what  we  are  frequently  taught  in  relation  to  him,  that 
all  his  words  and  judgments  and  acts  were  first  wrought 
inwardly  by  the  indwelling  power  of  the  Father,  before 
they  were  Avrought  outwardly  by  the  manifestations  of 
the  Son. 


SUMMARY  OF  PRINCIPLES. 


31 


XIV. 

In  accordance  with  what  has  been  said,  the  first  work  of 
man  will  be  to  restore  himself^  or  rather  to  cease  from 
any  reliance  on  himself,  and  to  look  to  God,  in  order  that 
a power  greater  than  himself  may  do  the  work  which 
has  failed  in  his  own  hands.  The  renovation  of  himself, 
which  naturally  comes  first  in  order,  will  not  fail  to  be 
followed  by  the  restoration  of  humanity  in  all  its  forms, 
particularly  by  the  restoration  of  the  family,  and  then  by 
the  pacification  and  perfection  of  society  in  general. 
The  man,  who  has  his  life  from  God,  will  endeavor  to 
restore  and  to  perfect  everything  in  its  order ; — operating 
in  connection  with  the  instrumentalities  and  arrange- 
ments which  his  heavenly  Father  has  established,  such 
as  the  Sabbath,  the  Bible,  and  the  Ministry,  and  always 
humbly  relying  on  the  suggestions  and  aids  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

XV. 

It  is  thus  that  men  are  truly  united  with  God.  But  it 
is  important  to  remember  that  the  union,  though  based 
upon  the  consent  of  the  party  which  is  brought  into 
union,  is  something  more  than  a mere  conventional 
arrangement.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  we  belong  to 
God’s  party,  unless  we  can  add,  that  we  belong  to  his 
household.  Those  who  are  “born  again,”  — at  least, 
in  that  higher  sehse  in  which  we  use  the  expressions,  — 
are  not  born  into  the  capacity  or  condition  of  mere  cooper- 
ators, or  servants,  — no  matter  how  faithful  their  services 
may  be,  — but  into  the  vastly  higher  condition  of  sons 
and  daughters.  God  is  the  Father.  They  are  the  chil- 
dren. And  they  are  united  to  God  not  only  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  will,  but  by  a filial  nature,  which  is  gradually 
originated  in  the  soul  by  a divine  power,  just  as  really 
and  tru  y as  earthly  children  are  united  by  a filial 
nature  to  their  earthly  parents.  (See  Part  V.,  Ch.  8.) 


PART  SECOND. 


ON  FAITH,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN  IN  FAITH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  FAITH  AS  AN  ELEMENT  OF  THE  DIVINE  NATURE. 

Explanations  of  Faith.  — Faith  a necessary  element  of  the  Divine 
Nature.  — Reasons  for  this  view.  — Reference  to  the  Scriptures. — 
Operations  of  the  principle  of  faith  in  the  Divine  Mind.  — Its  rela» 
tion  to  love.  — Of  the  excellency  of  faith. 

God  exists  by  the  necessities  of  his  nature.  Perhaps, 
however,  this  is  no  more  than  to  say  that  he  has  always 
existed.  The  fact  is  evident,  but  the  manner  of  it  is 
inexplicable.  It  is  obvious,  nevertheless,  that,  being 
what  he  is,  he  must  have  faith  in  himself  as  such. 
Faith,  as  really  as  knowledge  and  power,  is  an  original 
element  of  the  divine  existence. 

2.  With  God  there  is  no  time.  The  present,  past,  and 
future,  are  one.  So  that  God,  in  possessing  the  powers 
or  attributes  of  God  from  eternity,  has  had  faith  in  them 
from  eternity.  In  other  words,  God’s  faith  is  not  only 
commensurate  with  the  nature  of  his  attributes,  but  is 
commensurate,  also,  with  their  duration.  Before  all 
time,  and  in  all  time,  he  has  always  had  faith  in  him- 
self as  existing  from  etdrnity,  as  having  all  power,  all 
wisdom,  all  goodness,  all  truth.  Eternity,  therefore,  is 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


33 


not  more  predicable  of  God’s  attributes  than  it  is  of  faith 
in  his  attributes.  Both,  in  being  infinite,  have  the  same 
extent,  — in  being  eternal,  have  the  same  origin. 

3.  These  general  views  can  hardly  fail  to  commend 
themselves  to  enlightened  reflection  and  reason.  Faith, 
as  an  element  of  the  divine  nature,  is  as  necessary  as  the 
divine  existence.  If  we  predicate  necessity  of  the  one, 
we  must  predicate  it  of  the  other.  The  idea  of  God 
without  faith  in  himself  as  God,  would  be  something  in- 
conceivable, a contradiction,  a nullity.  It  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  faith,  underlaying  and  supporting  the  action  of 
the  will,  which  not  only  constitutes  the  foundation  of  his 
unity,  but  renders  his  various  perfections  active  and 
available  in  their  appropriate  spheres.  God  without 
faith  would  be  as  destitute  of  unity  of  character  and 
energy  of  action,  as  man  without  faith.  In  human 
action  it  is  constantly  seen  that  no  amount  of  knowledge 
will  supply  the  place  of  confidence.  The  commander 
of  a vessel,  for  instance,  with  all  the  knowledge  and 
capacity  requisite  to  guide  her  into  port,  but  having  no 
confidence  in  his  power,  and  actually  made  incapable 
of  consistent  and  right  action,  by  unbelief  in  his  capacity 
of  action,  takes  a wrong  course,  and  inevitably  makes 
shipwreck.  And,  in  like  manner,  the  attributes  of  God 
would  not  enable  him  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  uni- 
verse, if  he  had  not  faith  in  them  as  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency. If  it  were  possible  for  unbelief  to  enter  into  his 
nature,  instead  of  being  sustained  by  them  he  would  be 
frightened  by  the  extent  of  his  own  power,  and  would 
tremble  in  the  presence  of  his  own  infinite  justice.  The 
weight  of  his  attributes,  unsustained  by  the  faith  they 
were  calculated  to  inspire,  and  incapable  of  any  profit* 
able  direction,  would  fall  in,  if  we  may  so  express  it^ 


34 


DI\riNE  UNION. 


upon  the  centre  of  his  being,  so  that  he  would  present 
the  aspect  of  an  infinite  imbecility,  a God  in  ruins. 

4.  Nor  is  this  faith,  which  God  has  in  himself,  as  being 
what  he  is,  the  product  of  observation,  or  the  result  of 
comparison  and  deduction ; for  that  would  imply  that 
there  was  a time  when  he  was  without  it.  Nor  could  it 
have  been  communicated  from  any  source  exterior  to 
himself.  There  is  no  other  God  who  could  be  the 
source  of  such  communications.  On  the  contrary,  exist- 
ing without  being  given,  because  the  idea  of  its  being 
given  implies  u,  time  when  it  did  not  exist,  it  is  what  we 
have  already  represented  it  to  be,  something  coeternal 
with  the  Divine  Mind,  a part  of  the  Divine  Nature. 

5.  There  are  passages  of  Scripture  which  indicate 

more  or  less  explicitly  God’s  faith  in  himself.  And 
God  said  unto  Moses,  I am  that  I am.  And  he  said, 
Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  1 AM 
hath  sent  me  unto  you” — a declaration  which,  in  ex- 
cluding all  uncertainty,  and  still  without  assigning  any 
reason  for  such  confidence  except  the  reference  to  his 
own  existence,  obviously  implies  the  fact  of  faith  as  an 
element  of  the  Divine  Nature.  It  was  enough  for  Moses 
to  announce  that  the  I AM,  the  Divine  Existence,  had 
sent  him ; which,  in  being  the  true  and  original  existence 
or  life,  could  not  fail  to  verify  and  establish  its  messages 
and  purposes.  The  apostle  Paul  makes  express  mention 
of  God’s  faith.  Rom.  iii.  3 : Shall  their  unbelief,”  he 

says,  ^^make  i\iQ  faith  of  God  without  effect?”  The  faith 
of  God,  in  this  place,  is  sometimes  understood  to  mean  the 
declaration  or  promise  of  God.  May  it  not  also  imply  that 
confidence  in  himself  which  enabled  him  to  make  the 
promise  ? In  the  next  chapter,  the  apostle  represents  God 
in  the  exercise  of  faith,  as  calling  those  things  which 
are  not,  as  though  they  were.”  Overleaping  the  boun- 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


35 


daries  of  time,  and  by  its  mysterious  energy  cor  verting 
the  possible  into  the  actual,  it  realizes  the  future  in  the 
present  and  the  non-existence  of  the  fact  in  the  existence 
of  the  conception. 

6.  Again,  it  is  said  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 

When  God  made  promise  to  Abraham,  because  he 
could  swear  by  no  greater,  he  sware  by  himself, Ileb. 
vi.  13.  An  oath  is  an  appeal  to  a higher  power.  God, 
therefore,  being  the  highest  possible  existence,  could 
swear  only  by  himself,  which,  however,  he  obviously 
could  not  do,  if  he  had  not  possessed  faith  in  himself. 
In  the  same  Epistle,  xi.  3,  we  have  the  folloAving  remark- 
able passage : “ Through we  understand  the  worlds 
were  framed  by  the  word  of  God  ; so  that  things  which 
are  seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear.’^ 

If  we  understand  this  passage  correctly,  the  import  of 
it  is  this : — God,  in  the  exercise  of  faith^  namely,  faith  in 
his  ability  to  create  worlds,  created  them  by  his  word, 
so  that  things  seen  or  visible  were  made  from  things 
unseen.  The  context  of  the  passage,  when  properly 
examined,  seems  to  require  this  interpretation  of  it, 
although  it  is,  perhaps,  different  from  that  which  is 
generally  received.  The  sacred  writer,  in  giving,  as  it 
were,  the  genealogy  of  faith,  begins  with  God  himself ; 
not  only  as  being  first  among  the  elders,”  but  as  fur- 
nishing, in  the  fact  of  creation,  the  most  striking  illustra- 
tion of  the  definition  of  faith  he  had  just  given. 

And  undoubtedly  it  is  a great  truth,  as  the  passage 
obviously  implies,  that  God  himself  could  not  have 
orginated  creation  without  faith.  ^‘Darkness  wats  upon 
the  face  of  the  deep.”  The  wide-spread  and  formless 
chaos  lay  before  him,  out  of  which  an  universe  of  form, 
of  relations,  and  of  beauty,  was  to  spring  to  light.  If  he 
had  been  destitute  of  faith  in  his  ability  to  give  it  birth, 


36 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  volition,  the  inward  word^  would  never  have  been 
uttered.  The  most  reliable  knowledge  which  we  have 
of  mental  operations,  associating  as  it  always  does  the 
fact  of  volition  with  the  condition  of  antecedent  belief, 
clearly  indicates  that  it  would  have  been  impossible.  ^ 
But  having  faith,  he  acted,  when  the  time  of  action 
came.  He  believed  and  he  spake : “ He  commanded, 
and  it  stood  fast.” 

7.  With  perfect  faith  in  himself,  God  becomes  a perfect 
administrator.  He  lays  the  vast  plans,  which  are  being 
accomplished  in  the  universe,  because  he  has  faith  in  his 
ability  to  accomplish  them.  He  sees  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  and  adapts  the  wisest  means  to  the  most 
beneficial  results,  because  he  has  faith  in  his  wisdom. 

He  everywhere  dispenses  justice,  rewarding  the  good 
and  restraining  and  punishing  the  evil,  because  he  has 
faith  in  the  rectitude  of  his  intentions,  and  has  no  fear 
in  regard  to  any  of  his  acts  that  wrong  will  or  can  be 
done  by  them.  And,  above  all,  it  is  faith  in  himself  as 
having  power  in  himself  to  sustain  the  right  against 
the  wrong,  and  to  ^‘justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man,” 
which  enables  him,  by  mediatorial  plans,  which  he 
alone  can  comprehend,  to  pardon  the  guilty  and  to  do 
good  to  his  enemies. 

8.  These  views  tend  to  elevate  the  principle  of  faith. 

If  it  is  true  that  man  lives  by  faith,  it  is  not  less  true 
that  God  lives  by  faith.  So  that  faith,  as  an  element  of 
the  life  of  moral  beings,  is  taken  out  of  the  list  of  things 
which  are  created,  and  is  placed  among  those  which  are 
uncreated  and  eternal.  It  is  a principle  which  has  ever- 
lasting life.  God,  who  could  not  exist  without  faith, 
lives  by  having  faith  in  himself ; and  man  lives  by 
having  faith  in  God.  In  marching  in  the  high  road  of 
%ith,  we  have  God  for  our  leader.  We  follow  a captain 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


37 


who  is  without  fear;  and  that  is  the  source  of  our  own 
hope  and  courage.  God’s  faith  is  as  substantial  and 
permanent  as  God  is,  because  it  is  a part  of  his  nature. 
Man’s  faith  is  substantial  and  permanent  only  as  it 
elevates  itself  above  the  weaknesses  of  humai  ity  and 
reposes  upon  God 


CHAPTER  1) 


ON  FAITH  AS  THE  CONSTITUTIVE  ELEMENT  OF  HUMAN  AND 
• DIVINE  UNION. 

Of  man’s  perfection  when  he  came  from  his  Maker. — Man  created 
originally  in  the  possession  of  faith.  — Reasons  for  this  view. — Of 
the  degree  or  strength  of  faith,  as  it  existed  in  man  at  first.  — Man’s 
recognition  of  God  as  his  Father.  — These  views  supported  by  the 
Scriptures. 

All  that  man  had  when  he  was  made,  came  from  hif 
Maker.  And  all  that  God  made  was  pronounced  good. 
It  could  not  be  otherwise.  “ Every  good  gift,’’  says  the 
apostle  James,  ^^and  every  perfect  gift,  is  from  above, 
and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom 
is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning.”  His 
divine  power,”  says  the  apostle  Peter,  ^4iath  given  unto 
us  all  things  that  pertain  unto  godliness.” 

2.  Among  the  original  gifts  which  God  gave  to  man, 
when  he  came  good  and  perfect  from  his  Maker’s  hands, 
was  that  of  faith. 

If  God  could  not  exist,  as  the  Creator,  without  faith 
in  himself,  so  man  could  not  exist  as  the  created,  without 
faith  in  God.  Faith  in  God,  at  the  time  of  his  creation, 
was  a necessity..  That  is  to  say,  he  must  have  been 
created,  in  the  first  instance,  with  the  principle  of  faith, 
as  a part  of  his  nature.  Additional  to  what  is  expressly 
said  in  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject,  there  are  two  rea- 
sons in  support  of  this  assertion. 

The  first  is  one  which  is  derived  from  the  nature  of 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


39 


tlie  nynd.  Perhaps  it  may  be  called  the  philosophical 
reason.  It  is  this.  Faith,  considered  as  the  product  of 
humanity,  must  necessarily  rest  upon  the  evidence  of 
direct  perception,  in  some  of  its  forms,  or  of  reasoning, 
or  upon  both  combined.  But  it  is  self-evident,  that  it 
could  rest  there  only  on  the  ground  of  the  antecedent 
acceptance  of  the  credibility  of  the  perceptive  and  deduc- 
tive powers.  Hence,  the  express  declaration  of  the 
German  philosopher,  Fichte,  namely,  that  we  are  all 
born  infaith.^  It  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  believe 
in  the  information  v/hich  the  perceptive  and  deductive 
powers  give,  unless  we  previously  possessed  confidence 
in  them,  as  qualified  to  give  information.  And  this  con- 
fidence or  faith,  in  them,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us 
to  have,  unless  we  had,  at  the  same  time,  entire  faith  in 
the  God  who  gave  them. 

3.  The  other  reason,  that  man  must  have  been  orig- 
inally created  with  faith  in  God,  as  a part  of  his  nature, 
is  founded  in  man’s  sonship.  The  view  is  this.  God, 
in  forming  man  in  the  first  instance,  constituted  him,  not 
as  a being  made  and  cast  off  from  himself,  but  as  a being 
made  and  continuing  his  existence  in  himself : not  as 
an  independent  existence,  but  as  a related  or  filiated 
existence.  In  other  words,  God  made  him  a son. 

But  this  could  not  be  done  without  some  connecting 
principle.  There  can  be  no. mental  connection,  such  as 
is  implied  in  sonship,  without  faith.  Filiation,  or  son- 
ship  of  mind,  without  the  principle  of  faith  existing  in 
that  which  sustains  the  filial  relation,  is  an  impossibility. 
God,  therefore,  in  making  men  his  children,  necessarily 
gave  them  faith.  And  this  is  obviously  the  doctrine  of 

* Fichte’s  Bestimmung  des  Menschen.  — See  MorelPs  History  of 
Philosophy,  on  this  subject,  Part  II.  ch.  5,  ^ 2 j also  a biographical 
History  of  Philosophy,  by  G.  H.  Lewes,  series  II.,  vol.  4th. 


40 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  Scriptures,  that  faith  is  not  only  necessary  to  consti«» 
tute  sonship,  but  is  the  gift  of  God,^ 

4.  Accordingly,  man  in  his  original  state  believed. 
To  doubt  was  something  alien  to  his  nature.  He  not 
only  had  faith  in  God,  as  the  originator  of  his  own  being, 
but  as  the  Supreme  Ruler,  the  ‘^God  over  all.” 

Indeed,  the  propositions  of  God’s  eternal  existence,  om- 
nipresence, and  supremacy,  are  necessarily  addressed 
rather  to  faith  than  to  absolute  knowledge.  To  possess, 
for  instance,  a direct  and  positive  knowledge  of  God’s 
supremacy,  including  both  the  fact  of  his  supremacy 
and  its  infinitely  various  applications,  would  imply  a 
knowledge  not  more  limited  than  his  own.  But  if  the 
divine  supremacy,  as  thus  explained,  is  too  vast  a sub- 
ject for  direct  and  positive  knowledge,  it  is  not  too  vast 
for  belief  If  the  human  mind  cannot  fully  comprehend 
it,  (as  it  certainly  cannot,  in  its  particulars,)  it  can  be- 
lieve in  it  as  a thing  incomprehensible. 

5.  And  the  faith,  which  was  given  to  man  when  he 
first  came  from  the  hands  of  his  Maker,  existed  in  such 
a degree  of  strength  as  to  exclude  doubt.  Faith  has  its 
degrees.  But  if  a man  has  a Aveak  or  imperfect  belief 
of  God’s  supremacy,  he  will  fail  to  render  him  that 
sincere  and  deep  homage  to  which  his  supremacy  is 
entitled.  There  can  be  but  one  Supreme  power.  To 
doubt  of  God’s  supremacy,  or  to  believe  in  it  with  any- 
thing short  of  a full  and  perfect  belief,  seems  to  imply 
the  possibility  of  another  ascendant  power.  In  such  a 
state  of  mind  we  know  not  whom  to  call  our  master,  or 
whom  we  should  obey.  It  cannot  be  said  of  such  a 
being,  nor  of  any  other  being  in  whom  faith  is  not  per- 
fected, that  he  lives  by  faith.  So  that  the  sonship,  in 
which  man  was  originally  made,  and  to  which  the 


*Eph.  2 ; 8.  Heb.  6 : 1—4.  Galat.  3 : 7—26 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


41 


renovating  power  of  the  Gospel  is  destined  to  restore 
him,  implies,  not  only  faith,  but  the  perfection,  or  highest 
degree,  of  faith. 

6.  In  the  beginning,  therefore,  man,  from  the  neces- 
sity of  the  case,  was  created  not  only  with  faith,  but 
with  faith  existing  in  the  highest  degree.  And  faith, 
thus  given,  was  the  first  principle  of  union.  Man  could 
not  have  been  united  in  any  other  way.  The  faith  of 
t le  heart  inspired  the  utterance  of  the  lips.  The  first 
;ry  which  man  uttered,  when  he  came  from  the  bosom 
3f  the  Infinite,  was.  My  Father; — a voice  of  filiation, 
and  of  love,  which  was  not  learned  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  human  teaching,  but  was  inspired  and 
spoken  by  a divine  impulse. 

And  accordingly,  it  is  said  by  the  apostle  Paul,  in 
reference  to  the  restoration  of  man  to  God,  through 
Christ,  “TFe  are  the  children  of  God^  by  faith  — a 
remark  which  evidently  implies,  that  without  faith  we 
could  not  be  children.  God,  in  speaking  of  the  rebel- 
lious Israelites,  says,  They  are  a very  fro  ward  gener- 
ation, children  in  whom  is  no  faith.’’^  Being  without 
faith,  they  had  ceased  to  be  true  children,  and  had 
become  froward.  And  it  is  thus  we  are  enabled  to  feel 
the  force  of  that  remarkable  passage  in  Jeremiah, 

And  I said.  How  shall  I put  thee  among  the  children^ 
[or  restore  thee  to  the  condition  of  children,]  and  give 
thee  a pleasant  land,  a goodly  heritage  of  the  hosts  of 
nations?  And  I said.  Thou  shalt  call  me  My  Father. 
And  in  all  cases  the  faith,  which  enables  us  to  recognize 
God  as  our  Father,  constitutes  us  his  children. 

Galat.  3 : 26  Deut.  32  : 20.  f Jerem.  3 : 19. 

4^ 


CHAPTER  III, 


ON  THK  RELATION  QF  THE  WORK  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  RESTO- 
RATION OF  UNION. 

Origin  cf  sin.  — Of  man^s  condition  when  he  fell.  — Relation  of  unbelief 
to  other  sins.  — Object  of  Christ’s  coming  into  the  world.  — The 
atonement.  — Necessity  of  the  atonement.  — Its  effects. 

If  faith  was  the  original  principle  of  union  between 
God  and  man,  as  everything  teaches  us  it  must  have 
been,  then  the  opposite,  namely,  unbelief,  or  the  want 
of  faith,  was,  undoubtedly,  the  original  principle  of  sep- 
aration, disorder,  and  all  sin.  By  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  when  man  ceased  to  believe  in  God,  the  tie  of  filia- 
tion was  broken,  and  God  ceased  to  be  his  Father. 

2.  The  fall  of  man  is  summed  up  in  a single  sentence. 
He  fell  when  he  ceased  to  believe.  In  spiritual  filiation, 
faith  is,  and  necessarily  must  be,  the  primitive  and  con- 
stitutive element  of  the  filial  relation.  It  may,  perhaps, 
be  said,  that  it  does  not,  of  itself  alone^  constitute  sonship, 
but  it  can  certainly  be  said  that  it  is  an  element,  without 
which  the  constitution  of  sonship  would  be  an  impossi- 
bility. If  it  is  not  the  whole,  it  is  not  only  a part,  but 
an  essential  part.  And  accordingly,  when  faith  ceased, 
man  could  no  longer  say,  “My  Father.’’  He  of  course 
ceased  to  be  a son;  and  ceasing  to  be  a son,  he  be- 
came a rebel.  And  when  he  heard  the  voice  of  God 
speaking  to  him,  he  feared  him  and  fled. 

3.  From  that  sad  hour  how  greatly  changed  was 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


43 


man’s  condition!  Before  that  time  God  rejoiced  over 
him,  as  a father  delights  in  a beloved  child.  “ I live  by 
the  Father,”  said  the  blessed  Saviour.^  Such  was 
‘man’s  life  in  the  beginning.  God  gave  him  all  things, 
and  he  lived  without  care.  It  is  a great  truth,  which 
God  himself  has  proclaimed,  that  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith;”  — a truth  which  implies  that  his  life  is  not  in 
himself,  but  in  another.  But  when  man,  by  ceasing  to 
recognize  the  true  God,  made  himself  God,  he  no  longer 
looked  to  God  for  support.  ^^God  hath  made  man  up- 
right,” says  the  author  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  ‘^but 
they  have  sought  out  many  inventions.”  In  the  sim- 
plicity of  faith,  man  was  satisfied  with  what  was  given 
him,  but  afterwards,  too  proud  to  receive  provisions 
from  a father’s  hand,  he  endeavored  to  feed  himself;  — 
eating  in  toil  and  sorrow  among  the  thistles.  Under 
the  sharp  light  of  an  awakened  conscience,  he  found 
himself  naked  as  well  as  hungry.  In  the  state  of  divine 
filiation,  God  clothed  him  with  the  brightness  of  inno- 
cence ; but  when  he  sank  into  the  nakedness  of  the 
creature,  he  clothed  himself  with  fig-leaves. 

4.  Philosophically,  then,  as  well  as  scripturally,  unbe- 
lief is  the  sin  of  all  sins.  It  is  not  only  the  first,  but 
the  greatest ; not  only  the  evil  of  the  world,  but  the  seed 
or  parent  of  all  other  evil.  It  is  the  only  sin  by  which 
a man,  who  is  in  a state  of  union  with  God,  can  bt  sep- 
arated from  God  in  the  first  instance,  although  many 
other  sins  will  follow  from  it.  And  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  list,  it  is  not  more  first  in  time  than  it  is  first 
in  preeminence. 

5.  It  was  from  the  sin  of  unbelief  especially,  which 
originates  and  envelopes  all  other  sin,  that  Jesu-  !^hrist 


* John  6 : 57. 


44 


DIVINE  UNION 


came  into  the  world  to  save  men.  Sin,  under  a perfectly 
just  administration,  can  never  be  forgiven  without  an 
atonement.  Mercy  fails  to  be  truly  and  beneficially  exer- 
cised, when  it  fails,  at  the  time  of  its  exercise,  to  yield  its 
homage  to  what  is  right.  Hence  the  necessity  of  a medi- 
ator. We  are  taaght,  in  many  passages  of  Scripture,  that 
Christ  came  into  the  world,  that  he  was  born,  and  died, 
in  order  that  man’s  sins  might  be  forgiven,  and  that 
God,  in  connection  with  forgiveness,  might  re-create  the 
principle  of  faith,  and  restore  him  to  sonship.  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,”  said  John  the  Baptist,  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  v)orldP  Christ,”  says  the  apostle 
Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  “ hath  redeemed 
us  from  the  curse  of  the  law.”  And  again  he  says,  in 
the  same  Epistle : — When  the  fulness  of  the  time  was 
come,  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a woman,  made 
under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law, 
that  \ye  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons.”  ‘‘Christ,” 
says  the  apostle  Peter,  “ also  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us 
an  example  that  we  should  follow  his  steps,  who  his 
own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that 
we,  being  dead  to  sins,  should  live  to  righteousness:  — 
by  whose  stripes  ye  were  healed.”  Isaiah,  in  one  of 
the  many  prophecies  which  are  understood  to  have  rela- 
tion to  the  Saviour,  says,  “Surely  he  hath  borne  our 
griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows.”  And  again,  “ The  Lord 
lath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.”  The  word  of 
God,  whether  we  consult  its  history  or  its  poetry,  its 
prophecies  or  its  precepts,  is  full  of  this  great  truth.  So 
that  the  apostle  Peter,  when  “filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,”  had  good  reason  to  say  to  the  rulers  of  the 
people  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  — “This  is  the  stone, 
which  is  set  at  nought  of  you  builders,  which  is  become 
no  head  ot  the  corner.  Neither  is  there  salvation  in 


UNION  IN  FAITH.  45 

any  other,  for  ^ihere  is  none  other  name  under  heaven, 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved.’’ 

6.  The  doctrine  of  the  atonement  seems  to  have  a 
philosophical,  as  well  as  a religious  foundation;  that 
is  to  say,  it  will  be  found  to  be  sustained  not  only  by 
many  passages  of  Scripture,  but  by  sound  philosophical 
inquiry.  The  conceptions  of  right  and  wrong,  of  merit 
and  demerit,  of  reward  and  punishment,  and  of  the 
necessary  and  fixed  relations  among  them,  are  element- 
ary in  the  human  mind ; — not  so  much  the  results  of 
reasoning  as  connatural  and  necessary ; and  are  common 
to  all  men.  The  human  mind  has  never  separated,  and 
never  can  separate,  the  relations  of  merit  and  reward,  of 
demerit  and  punishment.  It  is  not  more  true  that  there 
is  an  universal  conviction,  than  it  is  that  there  is  an 
universal  law  represented  in  that  conviction,  that  virtue 
is  and  must  be.  folio  wed  by  happiness,  and  that  crime  is 
and  must  be  followed  by  misery.  And  it  is  a conviction 
not  less  universal,  that  God,  as  the  administrator  of  the 
universe,  and  as  the  administrator  and  sustainer  of  the 
truth  and  the  right,  cannot  and  does  not  allow  these 
important  relations  to  be  violated.  It  is. not  possible, 
under  a perfectly  holy  administration,  for  the  wrong-doer 
to  escape  punishment,  and  to  be  forgiven,  except  by 
means  of  an  atonement. 

7.  Such,  at  least,  on  a thorough  inquiry,  will  be  found 
tc  be  the  general  feeling  of  mankind.  Feelings  represent 

. principles.  And  they  do  so  because  they  spring  from 
them.  If  man  feels  his  need  of  some  mediatorial  agency 
in  order  to  become  reconciled  to  God,  it  is  because  he 
is  secretly  convinced,  although  he  may  be  unable  to 
analyze  that  conviction,  of  its  moral  necessity.  It  would 
be  well  for  men  who  are  given  to  philosophical  inquiries, 
to  turn  their  attention  to  this  point.  They  cannot  do  it 


46 


IVIVINE  UNIO^  . 


with  any  care,  without  seeing  how  widely  spread  is  the 
sense  of  sin,  and  how  deeply  men,  in  all  ages,  have  felt, 
not  only  the  need  of  reconciliation,  but  the  need  of  some 
mediatorial  power. 

It  is  for  this  reason,  that,  in  all  nations,  and  in  all  ages 
of  the  world,  offerings  have  been  made,  and  burning 
altars  have  been  kindled.  It  was  necessary,  as  it  seemed 
to  men,  that  the  offended  Deity,  under  whatever  form  or 
name  he  might  be  believed  in,  should  be  propitiated. 
They  did  not  then  know,  that  the  benevolence  of  God 
could  be  exhibited  in  connection  with  his  justice ; that 
God  himself,  in  the  person  of  his  Son,  would  be  the 
sinner’s  offering;  and  that  the  fires  of  human  altars 
would  be  quenched  in  the  blood  of  the  incarnate 
Immanuel. 

8.  The  atonement  being  made,  God  appeared  once 
more  as  the  restorer  and  new  creator  of  the  violated  and 
lost  sonship.  Angels  proclaimed  the  message.  To  all 

• the  world  it  was  annouhced,  Peace  on  earth  ; good  will 
to  men.”  As  many  as  were  of  a broken  heart  returned, 
and  God  gave  them  power  to  believe.  Beaten  by  the 
world’s  tempests,  disappointed  and  ruined  in  all  their 
worldly  expectations,  they  ceased  to  have  hope  in  the 
finite,  and  turned  their  weeping  eye  to  the  Infinite. 
/They  found  God  by  having  faith  in  God,  when  they 
.ost  themselves  by  ceasing  to  have  faith  in  themselves. 
Their  necessity  became  the  mother  of  their  faith.  In 
their  sorrows  they  turned  to  him,  who  alone  could  give 
! hope.  The  golden  link,  which  had  united  the  Father 
and  his  children  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  was  readjusted, 
and  they  became  one. 

9.  But  the  faith  which  was  lost  in  the  Fall,  and  is 
thus  restored  on  Calvary,  is  not  a dead  faith ; neither  is 
It  a faith  which  is  restricted  to  one  occasion,  or  one  pur- 


47 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 

pose.  It  must  be,  as  it  was  when  man  came  from  the 
perfect  hands  of  his  Maker,  a faith  universal  ; a faith  in 
everything  which  is  necessary  to  be  believed  in  ; a faith 
which  resists  the  attacks  of  selfishness  at  every  point, 
and  which  sanctifies  as  well  as  justifies.  The  first  act, 
connected  with  the  renunciation  of  ourselves,  and  with 
our  deep  sorrow  for  sin,  is  belief  in  God’s  willingness  to 
forgive  us  through  Christ.  The  result  of  this  act  is  for- 
giveness. 

10.  But  this  is  not  all  that  is  necessary.  It  is  God’s 
‘‘delight,”  as  it  is  said  to  be  the  delight  of  that  wis- 
dom which  dwells  in  him,  “to  be  with  the  children  of 
men.”  His  heart  is  not  isolated  and  unfeeling,  but  full 
of  the  spirit  of  communication.  He  not  only  loves,  but 
loves  to  be  loved  in  return.  The  desire  of  his  heart  is 
not,  and  cannot  be  satisfied,  until  man  not  only  returns 
to  be  reconciled,  but  returns  with  the  full  purpose  never 
more  to  he  unreconciled;  in  other  words,  returns  to  live 
in  him. 

It  is  impossible  that  man  should  come  back  to  be  par- 
doned with  no  other  view  than  that  of  starting  on  a new 
course  of  sin.  Siich  repentance,  if  we  could  call  it  by 
the  name  of.  repentance,  would  not  only  fail  to  meet  the 
claims  of  truth  and  justice,  but  would  be  adding  the 
spirit  of  contempt  and  mockery  to  transgression.  God 
cannot  accept  him,  unless  he  returns  not  only  a penitent 
son  for  the  past,  but  with  the  humble  and  believing 
prayer  that  he  may  be  a faithful  and  true  son  for  the 
future. 

11.  Every  man,  therefore,  who  has  a hope  of  recon- 
ciliation to  God  in  Christ,  can  retain  that  hope  only  on 
the  condition  of  a sincere  purpose  to  live  to  God  alone. 
He  must  be  willing,  henceforth,  in  the  exercise  of  faith 
in  the  mediatorial  arrangements  and  provisions,  not  only 


48 


DIVINE  UNION. 


to  receive  forgiveness  from  him,  but  everything  else  ; — 
making  God’s  will  the  guide  of  his  actions,  and  God’s 
promises  the  support  of  his  expectations.  He  must  be 
willing  to  be  transferred  from  the  dead  life  of  self,  to  the 
living  life  of  universal  love;  from  the  centre  of  the 
created,  to  the  centre  of  the  uncreated ; from  the  hope 
founded  in  man,  to  the  true  and  unchangeable  hope  in 
God. 

12.  Such  is  the  restoration  which  Christ  has  pur- 
chased ; not  only  forgiveness,  but  life.  Forgiveness  can- 
cels the  delinquencies  of  the  past,  but  it  does  not  give 
the  daily  bread”  of  the  present  and  the  future.  It 
takes  away  the  heavy  sense  of  condemnation,  but  it  does 
not  give  the  living  spirit  of  holiness.  It  destroys  the  hell 
of  the  soul;  but  God  alone  can  constitute  its  heaven. 
And  God  is  in  the  soul,  the  inspirer  of  its  thoughts  and 
iffections,  to  every  one  that  believes. 

Believe,  then,  that  ye  may  have  everlasting  life. 
‘ What  agreement,”  says  the  apostle,  “ hath  the  temple 
rjf  God  with  idols  7 For  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living 
God : as  God  hath  said,  I will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk 
rn  them ; and  I will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 
people.  Wherefore,  come  out  from  among  them,  and  be 
ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  unclean 
diing;  and  I will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a Father 
anto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith 
die  Lord  Almighty.”  2 Cor.  6 : 16 — 18. 

OH  BEAUTIFUL,  AND  YET  UNKNOWN! 

The  sunbeam,  at  its  noonday  height, 

Shines  not  to  those  who  cannot  see  ; 

And  what,  to  him  who  has  no  sight, 

Avails  the  day  that  shines  in  Thee  ? 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


49 


Oh  beautiful,  and  yet  unknown ! 

The  sinner  cannot  see  Thee  now; 

The  veil  across  his  sight  is  thrown, 

Which  shuts  him  from  thy  shining  brow. 

He  seeks  Thee,  but  thou  art  not  found, 

Nor  shall  he  have  the  power  to  find, 
While  sin,  that  wraps  its  folds  around. 
Shall  close  the  eye-ball  of  his  mind 

Friend  of  the  lost,  the  sinner’s  friend* 

Who  only  canst  the  light  impart  ; 

Oh  Saviour ! haste  that  veil  to  rend. 

And  pour  thy  brightness  on  his  heart 

6 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  LIFE  OF  EAITH  IN  DISTINCTION  FROM  THE  LIFE  OF  DESIRE. 

Of  the  disproportion  between  desire  and  faith  in  Christians.  — Illustra- 
tions of  this  disproportion.  — The  life  of  desire  and  faith  contrasted. 
— Transition  from  one  to  the  other. — Characteristics  of  this  state  of 
transition.  — Instances  of  the  life  of  faith. 

In  order  satisfactorily  to  understand  the  nature  of  the 
life  of  faith^  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  it  in  some 
particulars  from  the  life  of  desire.  It  is  by  these  last 
expressions  that  the  state  of  Christians,  in  the  more 
common  forms  of  experience,  may  well  be  described. 
Undoubtedly  the  description  will  apply  with  still  more 
truth  and  emphasis  to  those  whose  hearts  have  never 
been  brought  in  any  degree  under  a truly  religious 
influence.  Of  Christians,  however,  as  well  as  of  those 
who  are  not  so,  it  can  be  said,  v/ith  too  much  reason, 
that  their  life,  which  ought  to  be  more  fully  sustaired  by 
a higher  principle,  is  a life  of  desire.  If  they  will  ex- 
amine carefully,  they  will  be  surprised  to  find  the  great 
disproportion  which  there  is  between  their  desires  and 
their  faith. 

2.  They  desire,  for  instance,  those  temporal  things 
which  are  convenient  for  them,  without  exercising  a 
correspondent  degree  of  faith,  and  without  looking,  as 
they  ought  to  do,  to  the  great  and  only  Giver  of  all  good. 
They  desire,  with  feelings  partly  natural  and  partly 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


51 


holy,  the  progress  of  God’s  work  in  the  world;  tut  they 
have  but  little  faith,  certainly  far  less  than  they  ought  to 
have,  that  his  work  will  be  carried  on.  They  have 
desires,  perhaps  earnest  desires,  that  individuals,  with 
whom  they  are  acquainted,  should  become  the  devout 
followers  of  Gad ; — but  they  have  not  faith  in  proportion 
to  their  desires.  It  is  oftentimes  the  case  that  their 
desires  are  various,  multiplied,  and  perhaps  violent,  when 
they  are  scarcely  conscious  of  any  degree  of  faith. 
Indeed,  it  seems  sometimes  to  be  the  case  that  desires  aie 
strong  and  impetuous  in  proportion  to  want  of  faith. 

3.  This  is  a subject  at  which  persons  have  not  always 
looked  with  care.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is 
one  of  some  difficulty.  In  order  to  understand  it  the 
more  easily,  it  may  be  proper,  in  some  particulars,  to 
place  the  two  states  under  consideration  in  contrast  to 
each  other.  It  will  be  recollected,  however,  that  in 
speaking  of  desire  here,  we  mean  desire  as  it  exists  in 
those  whose  minds,  in  being  but  partially  sanctified,  are 
not  in  full  harmony  with  God. 

The  life  of  desire  has  its  centre  in  the  creature.  The 
life  of  faith  has  its  centre  in  God.  The  life  of  desire  has 
its  origin  in  the  wants  of  man’s  fallen  condition.  It  is 
the  natural  expression,  the  voice  of  those  wants.  The 
life  of  faith  has  its  origin  in  the  fulness  of  God.  It  is  the 
expression,  the  voice  of  that  fulness. 

The  life  of  desire,  originating  in  the  creature,  is 
bounded  in  its  horizon.  It  selects  particular  objects, 
such  as  it  can  see,  and  appreciate,  and  cling  to.  The 
life  of  faith  seeks  nothing  in  its  own  will ; but  expanding 
its  view  to  all  objects  and  all  relations  of  objects,  it 
chooses,  without  knowing  what  is  best  for  itself  or  others, 
only  what  God  chooses. 

The  life  of  desire  is  variable.  It  takes  a new  appear- 


u.  OF  ILL  LIB. 


52 


DIVINE  UNION. 


ance,  and  operates  in  a neAV  direction,  with  every  new 
object  to  which  it  attaches  itself.  The  life  of  faith  i» 
invariable,  always  exhibiting  the  same  aspect  and  look- 
ing in  the  same  direction,  because  the  object  which 
inspired  it  never  changes  and  never  can  change.  The 
life  of  desire  is  a multiplied  one,  because  it  seizes  succes- 
sively upon  the  multiplied  objects  of  desire  by  which  it 
is  surrounded.  The  life  of  faith  is  simple,  because,  trac- 
ing effects  to  causes  and  losing  sight  of  the  littleness  of 
the  creature  in  the  infinity  of  the  Creator,  it  rests  upon 
God  alone. 

The  life  of  desire  asks;  the  life  of  faith  satisfies. 
Desire  is  the  voice,  the  petition  of  the  creature ; faith  is 
the  expression  of  God’s  answer.  Desire,  restless  by  its 
very  nature,  seeks  to  accomplish  its  object  by  positive 
and  aggressive  efforts.  Faith,  in  the  consciousness  of  its 
strength,  conquers  by  being  in  harmony  with  the  divine 
movement,  and  by  the  attractions  and  power  of  its  innate 
purity  and  repose. 

4.  In  these  contrasted  statements,  which,  in  being 
introduced  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  illustration,  are 
designedly  made  in  a manner  somewhat  unqualified,  we 
may  obtain,  if  not  a perfect,  at  least  an  approximated 
view  of  the  subject.  We  now  proceed  to  say,  that  in 
the  progress  of  the  soul’s  renovation  and  of  its  restoration 
to  God,  the  mind  gradually  removes  from  its  first  central 
position  in  desire  to  a new  and  permanent  centre  in 
faith.  And  in  accordance  with  this  view,  it  will  be 
found,  on  examination,  that  there  is  always  a period,  if 
the  progress  in  sanctification  is  such  as  it  ought  to  be, 
which  may  be  described  as  the  period  of  transition  from 
the  life  of  desire  to  the  life  of  faith.  This  important  and 
decisive  period  is  characterized  by  two  things,  which  are 
worthy  of  notice  here. 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


63 


The  first  is,  that  the  desires,  at  first  so  numerous,  are 
simplified  and  brought  into  unity.  They  may  either  be 
described  as  los^/in^  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  as  made 
one  with  the  desire  of  the  accomplishment  of  God’s  will. 
The  language  of  the  heart,  whenever  it  is  brought  to  this 
period  in  its  history,  is,  Thy  will  be  done.  In  the  great 
and  overruling  desire  involved  in  this  language,  every 
other  inclination,  every  other  desire,  is  harmonized. 
And  it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  cannot  well  be  otherwise. 
The  necessity  of  a simplification  of  the  desires  is  to  be 
found  in  God’s  nature.  It  is  obvious  that  all  desires, 
all  purposes,  must  be  made  one  Avith  his,  or  they  can 
never  meet  with  his  approbation.  He  can  never  fulfil 
the  plans  of  any  being  which  are  distinct  from  and  at 
variance  with  his  own. 

5.  The  second  thing  characteristic  of  this  transition 
state,  is,  that  the  principle  of  faith  will  be  so  simplified 
in  its  action  as  to  embody  itself  and  rest  in  a single  prop- 
osition merely ; — namely,  that  God  does  now  give^  and 
that  he  always  will  give,  to  his  believing  people  that 
which  is  best  for  them; — a result  Avhich  will  be  fixed 
and  inflexible,  just  in  proportion  as  they  are  able,  with- 
out asking  anything  in  their  own  will,  to  rest  believingly 
in  this  great  truth.  Desire,  in  its  spiritual  simplification, 
uniting  all  objects  in  one,  says.  Thy  will  be  »done. 
This  is  its  continual  prayer.  Faith,  simplified  by  the 
same  grace  so  as  to  correspond  to  the  simplicity  of  the 
desire,  says,  in  reference  to  all  who  believe.  Thy  will 
is  done.  His  people  give  themselves  to  God ; — he  gives 
himself  to  them.  Their  will  is,  that  his  will,  and  not 
their  own,  may  be  accomplished  in  themselves  and  in 
whatever  concerns  them.  And  as  they  believe  in  nim  as 
a God  of  wisdom,  goodness,  and  truth,  the  accomplish- 
ment of  it,  whatever  it  may  be,  makes  them  happy. 

5^ 


64 


DIVINE  UNION. 


6.  These  views  aid  in  explaining  some  peculiarities  of 
inward  experience.  Antonia  Bourignon,  for  instance, 
speaking  of  some  forms  of  prayer  which  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  go  through,  says,  at  a certain  time,  that 
they  became  burdensome  to  her,  and  difficult  to  be 
repeated.^  Har  mind,  fixing  upon  no  particular  object 
of  want  or  desire,  was  greatly  drawn  to  inward  silence. 
In  her  alarm  she  hardly  knew  what  to  think ; but  was 
inclined  to  adopt  the  trying  conclusionj  either  that  she 
had  become  indifferent  to  religion,  or  that  God  had 
abandoned  her.  She  laid  the  case  before  God.  The 
answer,  which  she  speaks  of  having  received,  or  perhaps 
more  properly  the  conclusion  to  which  her  spirit  was 
promptly  led  by  a divine  operation,  was  embodied  in  the 
concise  but  significant  inward  expression,  Cease^  and  I 
will  do  allP 

The  import  of  this  divine  response  was  this  : Cease 
from  the  useless  multitude  of  petitions  with  which  you 
now  weary  me ; leave,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  all  your 
cares  and  sorrows  and  wants  in  my  hands,  and  I will 
take  care  of  you.  In  other  words,  it  was  the  transition 
point  from  a life  of  desire  to  a life  of  faith  ; and,  instead 
of  being  a state  of  indifference  or  declension  in  religion, 
was  really  one  of  great  advancement. 

7.  These  views  explain,  in  part  at  least,  some  expres- 
sions which  are  found  in  Bishop  Burnet’s  account  of  the 
religious  experience  and  life  of  the  Earl  of  Rochester ; 
though  the  form  of  experience  is  a little  different  in  some 
respects  from  that  which  has  just  been  mentioned.  In 
this  distinguished  but  very  irreligious  man,  the  power 
of  divine  grace  was  very  remarkable,  after  he  had  once 
learned  the  way  of  truth  and  purity.  The  turbulent  life 

* Parole  de  Dieu,  p.  31.  See  also  Boudon’s  Kegne  de  Dieu.  Livre 
111.  Chs.  ^ 8. 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


55 


of  nature  was  withered  and  consumed  under  the  blaze 
of  holy  love.  In  the  closing  part  of  his  life,  Lis  religious 
state,  raised  above  all  anxieties  and  all  ordinary  forms 
of  desire,  was  characterized  chiefly  by  triumphant  faith, 
and  the  spirit  of  devout  and  exalted  praise.  In  admira- 
tion of  the  boundless  goodness  of  God,  he  exclaimed, 
Oh,  Avhy  these  favors  to  me.  Lord?  why  to  me? 
Praise  is  now  my  work.  Oh,  help  me  to  praise  him ! I 
have  nothing  else  to  do.  I have  done  with  prayer.  I 
shall  presently  stand  upon  Mount  Zion,  with  an  innu- 
merable company  of  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  the  just 
made  perfect.  I shall  hear  the  voice  of  multitudes,  and 
be  one  among  those  who  say,  Hallelujah  ! Glory,  and 
Honor,  and  power  unto  the  Lord  our  God  !” 

The  experimental  or  interior  history  of  the  church 
presents  many  cases,  which  bear  a resemblance  more  or 
less  close  to  these,  and  which  illustrate  these  views. 
Leighton,  Ken,  Edwards,  Gregory  Lopez,  Guthrie, 
Brainerd,  Oarvosso,  Pay  son, — all,  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
who  have  attained  assurance  of  faith,  are  instances. 

8.  Especially  do  the  lives  of  the  pious  men  who  are 
mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  whatever  may  be  true  of 
their  desires,  exhibit  the  predominance  of  this  great 
principle.  Remove  the  mighty  attribute  of  faith  ; — and 
what  would  be  left  worthy  of  especial  notice  to  the 
religious  man,  in  the  sublime  characters  of  Abraham, 
Moses,  and  Daniel,  of  Paul  and  John?  The  Saviour,  in 
particular,  who  is  our  great  pattern,  is  the  most  perfect 
exemplification  of  the  life  of  faith.  It  is  true  that  in  his 
state  of  humanity  he  had,  like  other  men,  the  desires 
which  are  common  to  man’s  nature; — but  these  desires 
were  always,  and  in  all  cases,  subordinated  to  the  desire 
that  God’s  will  might  be  done.  “ Lo,  I come  to  do  thy 
will.”  “Not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done.”  In  this 


66 


DIVINE  UNION. 


overruling  desire  that  God’s  will  might  be  accomplished, 
all  other  desires  were  harmonized  and  made  one. 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  strength  of  the  Saviour’s 
faith  corresponded  to  the  simplicity  and  the  exalted 
nature  of  his  desire.  His  desire,  checked  and  controlled 
by  his  confidence  in  God,  never  degenerated  into  anxiety, 
never  changed  to  selfishness.  Faith  overshadowed  and 
sanctified  it.  It  was  faith  which  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  perfect  adjustment  of  his  own  character.  It  was 
by  faith  that  he  ruled  both  men  and  nature; — healing 
the  sick,  controlling  the  storms,  and  walking  upon  the 
sea.  It  was  faith  that  gave  him  strength  to  consummate 
the  mighty  sacrifice  which  saved  a world.  In  his  faith, 
more  than  in  any  other  of  his  mental  attributes,  was  the 
hiding  of  his  powers 


CHAPTER  V. 


OF  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN  12^  FAITH. 

On  the  degree  cf  faith  necessary  to  constitute  the  union  of  God  and 
man  in  faith.  — Man  should  believe  in  God  just  as  God  believes  in 
himself.  — Illustrations  of  this  view.  — Inferences  from  the  general 
views  of  this  subject.  — Faith  the  gift  of  God.  — Faith  the  basis 
of  knowledge.  — Faith  the  source  of  strength.  — Faith  the  basis  of 
right  action.  — Reference  to  the  Scriptures. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  show,  in  one  of  the 
previous  chapters^  that  faith  is  the  constitutive  element 
of  human  and  divine  union.  That  is  to  say,  without 
faith  on  the  part  of  man  it  is  impossible  that  union 
between  God  and  man  in  other  respects  should  exist. 
Faith  is  the  element  which  is  indispensable  in  the  for- 
mation of  union;  but  the  question  still  remains,  what 
degree  of  faith  is  necessary  ? 

The  answer  is,  man  will  be  united  with  God  in  other 
respects,  in  love,  in  wisdom,  and  in  will,  just  in  pro- 
portion to  that  faith  which  is  the  constitutive  element 
of  union ; and  he  will  be  perfectly  united  in  these  re- 
spects when  he  is  perfectly  united  in  faith.  And  if  the 
question  recurs,  when  may  he  be  said  to  be  perfectly 
united  in  faith  ? — the  answer  is,  when  he  believes  in 
God  with  that  unwavering  confidence  with  which  God 
believes  in  himself. 

2.  For  instance,  God  has  faith  in  his  omnipotence. 
He  has  the  power  to  do  all  things,  and  he  believes  that 


68 


DIVINE  UNION. 


he  can  do  all  things.  The  faith  of  that  man,  in  whom 
the  principle  of  faith  is  perfectly  restored,  harmonizes 
with  God’s  faith,  and  he  also  perfectly  believes  that  God 
can  do  all  things. 

Again,  God  has  perfect  faith  in  his  own  wisdom; 
never  doubting  in  the  least  that  he  sees  the  end  from 
the  beginning,  and  that  nothing  is  or  can  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  his  kno  wledge.  The  faith  of  the  man,  in  whom 
the  principle  of  faith  is  perfectly  established,  harmonizes, 
in  this  instance  also,  with  God’s  faith,  and  he  never 
doubts,  and  never  can  doubt  while  he  remains  in  this 
state,  of  the  perfection  of  the  divine  wisdom. 

Again,  God  has  perfect  faith  in  his  own  perfect  rec- 
titude, believing  that  he  shall  always  do  right  under  all 
circumstances,  and  without  the  least  variation.  The 
faith  of  the  man  of  perfect  faith  harmonizes  with  God’s 
faith,  so  that  he  never  doubts  that  the  omnipotence  of 
God  is  pledged  to  the  support  of  the  right,  and  that  all 
things  will  work  together  for  the  good  of  those  who  love 
him. 

3.  Man’s  faith,  when  it  is  in  a state  of  perfect  restora- 
tion, rests  upon  God’s  faith,  as  upon  an  unchangeable 
rock.  The  divine  faith  is  eternal ; it  is  a part  of  the 
divine  existence,  and  is  as  unchangeable  as  it  is  eternal. 
And  when  the  divine  and  human  faith  are  brought  into 
perfect  harmony,  the  stable  and  divine  character  of  the 
one  is  communicated  to  the  other.  God’s  faith,  for 
instance,  in  his  own  truth  is  perfect.  It  never  enters  his 
conceptions  as  a thing  possible  that  he  should  utter  a 
falsehood.  To  believe  it  possible  would  be  a belief  in 
his  own  degradation  and  ruin.  So  man’s  faith,  when  in 
perfect  union  with  God’s  faith,  accepts  undoubtingly 
God’s  truth;  both  the  truth  of  his  general  nature,  and 


¥ 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


69 


the  truth  of  his  specific  declarations.  The  stability  of 
the  one  is  communicated  to  the  other. 

4.  In  connection  with  this  subject,  a number  of  re- 
marks may  properly  be  made.  Some  of  these  remarks 
have  already  been  anticipated  in  part ; but  we  wish  to 
repeat  them  here,  and  to  leave  them  fixed  in  the  mind. 
And  one  is  this ; as  God’s  faith  in  himself  is  not  founded 
on  experience,  but,  in  the  order  of  nature  and  in  fact,  is 
antecedent  to  experience,  so  man,  in  his  unfallen  state, 
does  not  create  his  faith  by  reasoning  founded  on  expe- 
rience, but  being  formed  in  the  image  of  God,  was  created, 
in  the  beginning  of  his  existence,  in  the  possession  of 
faith.  Religious  faith,  that  faith  which  recognizes  and 
realizes  the  existence  and  perfections  of  God,  relating  as 
it  does  to  things  which  must  always  be  beyond  direct 
human  cognizance,  is,  and  must  be,  a gift  of  God.  And 
such,  as  has  already  been  remarked,  it  is  represented  to 
be  in  the  Scriptures. 

5.  Another  remark  is,  that  faith  given  is  and  neces- 
sarily must  be  the  basis  of  human  knowledge.-  To 
ascertain  the  basis  or  true  foundation  of  knowledge,  has 
been  considered  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  of 
human  philosophy.  Philosophy,  instigated  by  the  pride 
and  confidence  of  research,  has  sought  for  other  founda- 
tions, but  without  success.  It  has  been  obliged,  after 
long  and  earnest  inquiries,  to  adopt  the  conclusion, 
humbling  though  it  may  be  to  the  natural  pride  of  the 
intellect,  that  all  certainty  rests  upon  faith  ; — namely, 
faith  in  our  mental  powers  as  the  sources  of  knowledge, 
and  also,  and  chiefly,  faith  in  God  as  the  giver  of  those 
powers.  It  is  this  principle,  harmonizing  precisely  with 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  and  with  all  religious  experi- 
ence, which  bridges  over  and  shuts  that  great  gulf  in 
mere  human  philosophy,  which  separates  the  states  oi 


60 


DIVINE  UNION. 


mind  from  the  knowledge  invclved  in  those  states^  per 
ceptions  from  the  objects  perceived,  the  subjective  from 
the  objective. 

6.  A third  remark  is  this : As  faith  is  the  basis  of 
knowledge,  so  it  is  the  basis  of  power.  Power  in  the 
Divine  Mind  is  rendered  available  by  faith.  Power  in 
man  rests  upon  the  same  basis,  and  man  may  be  said  to 
be  powerful  in  proportion  as  he  believes.  It  will  be 
found  true,  in  relation  to  all  moral  beings,  that  faith  is  a 
necessary  element  of  existence.  To  believe  or  to  perish 
is  their  destiny.  All  inquiries  point  in  that  direction. 
They  must  have  faith  in  something,  or  they  necessarily 
die.  And  if  faith  is  necessary  to  existence,  it  is  still 
more  necessary  to  power  and  the  manifestations  of  power. 
Formed  in  the  image  of  God,  the  strength  of  man,  like 
that  of  his  Maker,  rests  on  the  column  of  belief,  and  his 
highest  degree  of  strength  is  realized,  when  human  faith 
is  intertwined  and  made  one  with  divine  faith,  and  when 
he  believes  in  God  just  as  God  believes  in  himself. 

7.  Again,  faith  is,  and  should  be,  the  true  basis  of 
human  action.  As  God  never  doubts,  so  he  never  acts 
.in  a state  of  doubt.  Whatever  he  does  is  in  full  faith 
not  only  of  his  ability  to  do  it,  but  of  the  rectitude  of  its 
being  done.  And  so  man,  when  he  is  in  harmony  with 
God,  acts,  and  must  act,  in  faith.  When  we  propose  to 
do  a thing,  and  have  not  full  faith  in  its  rectitude  and 
propriety,  then  it  is  a thing  not  to  be  done.  We  must 
wait  until  God,  by  his  Word,  Spirit,  and  Providences, 
'‘lears  up  our  way,  and  gives  us  faith.  “ Whatever  is 
not  of  faith,  is  sin.^’ 

8.  In  the  light  and  with  the  aid  of  such  views,  we 
can  appreciate  more  fully  than  we  might  otherwise  be 
able  to  do,  various  expressions  of  the  Saviour,  such  as 
are  found,  for  instance,  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the 


UNION  IN  FAITH. 


61 


Gospel  of  Mark.  And  Jesus  answering,  saith  to  them, 
Have  faith  in  God.  For  verily  I say  unto  you,  that 
whosoever  shall  say  to  this  mountain,  Be  thou  removed 
and  be  thou  cast  into  the  sea,  and  shall  not  doubt  in  his 
heart,  but  shall  believe  that  those  things  which  he  saith 
shall  come  to  pass,  he  shall  have  whatsoever  he  saith. 
Wherefore  I say  unto  you,  what  things  soever  ye 
desire  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them,  and 
ye  shall  have  them.” 

True  faith  is  the  gift  of  God ; and  when  it  is  given,  it 
is  just  as  certain  that  the  result  believed  in  will  follow, 
as  it  is  certain  that  God  is  true.  So  far  as  we  have  faith 
in  God,  we  have  a portion  of  the  divine  life,  and,  of 
course,  a portion  of  the  divine  power.  When  the  human 
soul  is  linked  to  God  by  faith,  it  is  difficult  to  place  a 
limit  to  its  power,  because  it  operates  by  moving  the 
divine  arm.  All  the  miracles  of  Christ  were  by  faith. 
It  is  not  wonderful,  therefore,  that  the  Scriptures  every- 
where ascribe  so  much  power  to  it. 

Faith  creates  worlds,  raises  the  dead,  changes  the 
heart,  makes  wise  above  human  wisdom,  renovates 
man’s  physical  as  well  as  his  spiritual  nature,  quenches 
the  violence  of  fire”  by  rendering  hurtful  things  unhurt- 
ful, “stops  the  mouths  of  lions”  by  reconciling  the 
antagonisms  and  passions  of  the  animal  world,  destroys 
the  sting  and  the  power  of  death,  conquers  Satan,  unites 
the  soul  with  God,  gives  everlasting  life. 

6 


PART*  THIRD. 


ON  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AIJD 
MAN  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ALL  KNOWLEDGE  NECESSARILY  IN  GOD. 

General  statements.  — All  knowledge  first  existed  in  God  alone. — 
Proofs  from  the  nature  of  knowledge.  — Proofs  fron  the  instru^ 
ments  of  knowledge.  — Of  the  instincts  of  animals.  — God  the  soul 
or  guide  of  reason  as  well  as  of  instinct.  — Of  man’s  moral  re- 
sponsibility. 

Having  ascertained  some  of  the  more  general  princi- 
ples which  are  applicable  to  man’s  restoration,  and  to 
that  intimate  reunion  with  God  which  cannot  fail  sooner 
or  later  to  become,  more  than  any  other,  the  absorbing 
topic  of  the  moral  world,  we  proceed  now  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  subject  in  other  important  particulars, — 
namely,  union  with  God  in  knowledge  in  love,  in  will, 
in  providence,  and  in  the  great  work  ut  man’s  redemp- 
tion. 

2.  God  being  the  truth  and  the  all,  all  beings  who 
are  in  the  truth  are  developments  from  himself ; — not 
merely  being  in  harmony  with  him  by  agreement  or 
convention,  but  flowing  out  from  him  as  from  their 
source  of  life.  The  tree  that  stands  upright  ar  d bloom- 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


63 


ing  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  derives  its  substance,  its 
form,  Its  beauty,  from  the  earth  where  it  grows ; but  not 
more  truly  than  every  moral  being,  who  is  in  the  truth 
and  the  right,  derives  whatever  is  true  and  right  and 
good  in  him  from  God,  who  is  the  only  good.  The  tree 
is  not  the  same  thing  with  the  earth  ; — it  bears  a dis- 
tinct name  and  flourishes  in  a distinct  form; — but  the 
moment  its  root  is  separated  from  the  great  and  rich 
bosom  of  its  parent,  it  falls  and  withers  and  dies.  So 
man  is  not  God ; if  he  were  so,  he  could  not  have  been 
made  in  the  image  of  God ; but  the  moment  he  is  sun- 
dered from  the  Infinite  Parent,  by  separating  the  golden 
link  of  faith,  he  too  falls  and  dies.  There  is  then  no 
strength,  no  soundness  in  him. 

3.  In  endeavoring  further  to  show  how  the  true  and 
holy  man  exists  in  all  things  in  divine  union,  and  that 
he  has  nothing,  and  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  he 
can  have  nothing,  except  what  he  has  from  God,  we 
proceed  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  the  union  of  God  and  man  in  that  respect. 

And  we  begin  with  saying,  that,  in  the  first  instance, 
all  knowledge  necessarily  exists  in  God.  It  is  true  that 
knowledge  can  be  predicated  of  man  as  well  as  of  God ; 
it  can  be  predicated  of  angels,  and,  in  a greater  or  less 
degree,  of  all  percipient  beings.  Of  all  such  beings  it  is 
a necessary  attribute.  They  all,  in  being  percipient,  not 
only  actually  possess  more  or  less  of  knowledge,  but  they 
have  their  appropriate  sphere  of  knowledge ; a field  of 
inquiry  suited  to  their  position  and  faculties;  often  a 
very  limited  one,  it  is  true,  but  always  really  and  truly 
existing.  This  remark  applies  to  knowledge  in  all  its 
forms,  instinctive,  intuitive,  and  deductive. 

4.  But,  in  whatever  degree  or  in  whatever  form  it 
exists,  it  is  certain  that  it  must  first  have  existed  in  God 


64 


DIVINE  UNION. 


before  it  could  have  existed  in  the  creature.  The  very 
idea  of  God  implies  that  he  has  all  knowledge;  that 
nothing  exists,  and  nothing  can'be  conceived  of,  which  is 
beyond  the  reach  of  his  omniscience ; and  that  he  knew 
all  that  he  now  knows,  or  ever  can  know,  in  the  begin- 
ning, 

5.  The  nature  of  knowledge,  also,  indicating  the 
divinity  of  its  origin,  shows  that  it  must  first  have  ex- 
isted in  God.  There  can  be  no  knowledge  without  an 
object  of  knowledge,  without  something  known,  without 
a thing  or  existence  to  which  the  knowledge  corresponds. 
But  everything  which  properly  comes  under  the  head  of 
creation^  everything  which  exists,  or  can  exist,  is,  and 
must  be,  from  God.  But  if  all  things  are  from  God,  then 
the  conception  or  idea  of  all  things  must  have  first  been 
in  him.  All  things  which  are  created,  were  brought  into 
existence  in  entire  correspondence  with  the  conceptions, 
or  intellectual  models,  which  are  eternal  in  the  Godhead. 
The  forms  of  things  can  no  more  come  by  accident  than 
the  things  themselves.  Existences,  in  form  as  well  as 
in  fact,  must  be  realizations  of  divine  ideas.  If,  then, 
there  can  be  no  knowledge  without  objects  of  knowledge, 
and  if  all  objects  are  formed  in  accordance  with  the 
knowledge  of  existence  and  form  already  existing  in  the 
Divine  Mind,  then  all  knowledge  must  have  been  in  God 
in  the  beginning. 

6.  Again,  all  knowledge,  which  can  now  be  regarded 
as  existing  in  the  creatures,  and  can  be  predicated  of 
them,  must  first  have  existed  in  God,  because  he  formed 
and  sustains  the  instruments  of  their  knowledge.  The 
perceptive  or  cognitive  powers,  which  they  possess,  are 
derived  from  him.  He  constituted  them  as  the  instru- 
ments of  definite  results;  and,  of  course,  must  have 
knowi.  the  results  before  he  established  the  instrumen- 


UNION  N KNOWLEDGE. 


65 


tality.  So  that  he  not  only  made  them  for  particular 
ends,  knowing  the  ends  for  which  he  made  them,  but 
prescribed,  also,  in  reference  to  those  ends,  the  mode  and 
the  degree  of  their  action.  All  knowledge,  therefore,  is 
in  him,  because  there  can  be  no  subordinate  instruments 
of  knowledge  which  are  not  from  him. 

7.  Well  is  the  question  put  in  the  well-known  lan- 
guage of  a popular  English  poet : — 

“ Who  taught  the  nations  of  the  field  and  wood 
To  shun  their  poison,  and  to  choose  their  food  ? 

Prescient,  the  tides  and  tempests  to  withstand. 

Build  on  the  wave,  or  arch  beneath  the  sand  ? 

Who  made  the  spider  parallels  design. 

Sure  as  De  Moivre,  without  rule  or  line  ? 

Who  bade  the  stork,  Columbus-like,  explore 
Heavens  not  his  own,  and  worlds  unknown  before  ? ” 

In  the  comparison  of  reason  with  instinct,  we  would 
not  say  with  this  ingenious  writer  : 

In  this ’t  is  God  directs  5 — in  that  ^t  is  man 

but  rather,  in  accordance  with  sound  philosophy,  as  well 
as  religion,  ascribe  both  to  God. 

8.  It  is  delightful  to  contemplate  the  instincts  of 
animals.  If  there  is  not  a Power  controlling  and  guid- 
ing these  instincts,  separate  from  and  above  the  animal 
where  they  reside,  then  the  animal  occupies  a place  in 
the  scale  of  being  far  higher  than  is  generally  estimated. 

Without  hesitation  would  we  subscribe  to  a sentiment 
to  be  found  in  the  writings  of  the  judicious  mental 
philosopher,  Dr.  Reid.  He  is  speaking  of  the  wonderful 
skill  and  mathematical  accuracy  of  the  bee,  in  forming 
the  cells  of  a honey-comb.  “ Shall  we  ask  here,”  he 
remarks,  “ who  taught  the  bee  the  properties  of  solid/?: 
6* 


66 


DIVINE  UNION. 


and  to  resolve  problems  of  maxima  and  minima?  We 
need  not  say  that  bees  know  none  of  these  things.  They 
work  most  geometrically,  without  any  knowledge  of 
geometry ; somewhat  like  a child,  who,  by  turning  the 
handle  of  an  organ,  makes  good  music  without  any 
knowledge  of  music.  The  art  is  not  in  the  child,  but  in 
him  who  made  the  organ.  In  like  manner,  when  a bee 
makes  its  comb  so  geometrically,  the  geometry  is  not  in 
the  bee,  but  in  that  great  Geomet7'ician  who  made  the 
bee,  and  made  all  things  in  number,  weight  and  meas- 
ure.’’ 

9.  So  we  may  add  in  regard  to  man’s  reason.  Man’s 
reason,  in  its  true  and  unperverted  state,  does  not  so 
much  exist  in  man,  as  in  that  great  Architect  of  reason 
who  made  man.  God,  and  God  alone,  gave  it  its  powers 
of  perception  and  comparison  ; he  established  its  laws 
of  action ; he  adjusted  the  relation  of  its  capacity  and 
its  results ; and  it  is  by  his  presence  and  guidance  that 
it  is  sustained  in  all  its  just  movements. 

It  is  true  there  is  a reason  of  which  this  cannot  be 
said; — that  reason  which  is  undirected^  the  reason  of  the 
fallen  and  the  guilty.  But  of  the  reason  of  truly  hum- 
ble and  holy  men,  the  reason  of  angels  and  all  holy 
beings,  it  can  always  be  said  with  truth,  it  is  God’s 
reason,  — God  is  its  life. 

10.  We  are  not  ignorant  that  this  view,  like  some 
others  which  have  been  and  will  be  presented,  involves 
the  question  of  man’s  power  and  responsibility.  It  will 
be  said,  perhaps,  that  man  was  made  independent,  that 
his  reason  is  his  own,  and  that  he  alone  is  responsible 
for  ’ts  exercise.  We  readily  admit  that  there  is  an 
important  sense  in  which  these  expressions  are  true. 
But  is  there  any  better  exercise  of  man’s  independence, 
than  by  acknowledging  him  who  gave  it?  Does  he 


UNION  IN  KNOW1.EDGE. 


67 


alienate  his  responsibility  by  accepting  aid  from  God  ? 
The  fact  of  his  moral  responsibility  is  fully  secured  by 
leaving  it  to  his  choice  whether  he  will  live  and  act 
with  God  or  without  God.  In  making  and  acting  upon 
that  choice,  — a choice  which  is  constantly  placed  before 
him,  — he  fully  sustains  the  rights  of  his  moral  position. 
But  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  very  fact  of  choice 
implies,  where  things  are  thus  placed  * in  opposition  to 
each  other,  that,  if  one  choice  is  wise,  the  other  will  be 
unwise ; if  one  choice  is  right,  the  other  will  be  wrong. 

God  made  man,  in  order  that,  in  the  exercise  of  a free 
will,  he  might  live  in  and  from  his  Maker.  This  is  the 
great  truth  of  God  and  humanity.  Accordingly,  while 
man’s  free  will  gives  him  all  that  independence  which 
is  implied  in  the  exercise  of  choice,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily give  or  imply  the  least  alienation  from  God. 
Undoubtedly  he  may  undertake  the  management  of  his 
powers  of  perception  and  reasoning,  if  he  chooses  to  do 
it,  independently  of  God.  But  would  it  be  a wise 
choice? — would  it  be  a right  choice? — would  it  be  a 
successful  choice  ? Does  it  follow,  because  God  has  said 
to  man,  — be  independent  if  you  choose  to  be  so.  — that 
he  will  make  a choice  so  utterly  unwise,  so  utterly  de- 
structive and  wrong  ? 

11.  There  is  a difference  between  liberty  and  license, 
liicense  is  liberty  licentious ; that  is  to  say,  wrong,  per- 
verted. But  liberty,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  faith- 
ful to  its  divine  instincts,  always  respects  right  and 
obligation.  Accordingly,  it  claims,  it  asks,  it  receives, 
no  exemption  from  God.  It-  is  very  true  that  man,  in 
the  perverted  exercise  of  his  freedom,  may  choose  to  live 
without  God.  But  will  he,  or  can  he,  live  a divine  life 
when  thus  separated  from  him  ? Can  he,  in  this  state 
of  alienation,  possess  what  he  ought  always  to  possess, 


68 


DIVINE  UNION. 


an  angelic  nature,  the  spirit  and  life  of  Christ  in  his  own 
soul  ? In  taking  his  powers  of  knowledge  out  of  God’s 
control,  he  no  longer  has  divine  knowledge,  and  cannot 
have.  If  it  be  true  that  moral  freedom,  considered 
abstractly  and  with  reference  merely  to  possibilities  of 
action,  will  allow  us  to  take  this  course,  it  is  equally 
certain  that  morality^  the  doing  what  is  right  and  best  to 
be  done,  will  not  allow  it.  On  the  contrary,  what 
morality  always  requires  us  as  moral  agents  to  do  in 
this  matter,  is,  to  place  our  powers  of  knowledge  in  the 
divine  keeping.  It  is  there  that  they  are  both  rightly  and 
safely  placed.  It  is  impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
that  any  being  but  God  should  entirely  keep  human 
reason  from  error,  and  direct  it  aright.  Man,  without 
God  to  aid  him,  is  sure  to  injure  its  powers,  or  to  prevent 
its  right  application.  So  that  God  is,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  the  God  of  all  true  and  right  reason. 

12.  We  will  only  add,  that  any  other  view  would 
place  man  below  the  brutes.  If  they  have  not  moral 
freedom,  it  can  at  least  be  said  of  them  that  they  do  not 
violate  God’s  order.  God  feeds  them;  and  they  are 
willing  to  be  under  his  care.  God  guides  them,  and 
they  fulfil  the  ends  of  their  being.  A brute,  under  God’s 
protection  and  guidance,  is  in  a far  better  condition  than 
a man  left  to  himself. 


CHAPTER  II. 


HUM  KNOWLEDGE  BASED  UPON  THE  DIVINE. 

God  the  former  and  sustainer  of  the  instruments  of  knowledge.—* 
Doctrine  of  Malebranche.  — Explanations  upon  it.  — Necessity  of 
divine  guidance  in  the  use  of  our  cognitive  powers.  — Distinction 
between  knowledge  and  the  truth.  — Reference  to  the  Scriptures.  — 
Concluding  remarks. 

All  knowledge,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  is  originally  in  God.  We  proceed  now  to 
remark,  further,  that  human  knowledge  is  based  upon 
the  divine.  In  the  Infinite  Mind  is  the  original  fountain ; 
— a sea  of  knowledge,  wide,  deep,  and  forever  full. 
And  from  it  flow  out  the  streams  and  rivulets  of  knowl- 
edge into  all  created  minds. 

The  view  which  thus  connects  human  with  divine 
knowledge,  as  streams  are  connected  with  their  original 
fountains,  has  already  been  anticipated  in  part.  It  has 
already  been  said  that  God  formed,  and  that  he  sustains, 
the  instruments  of  knowledge,  the  various  perceptive  or 
cognitive  powers,  which  exist  in  the  human  soul.  But 
the  subject  remains  to  be  presented  in  some  additional 
aspects. 

2.  It  is  a doctrine  of  Malebranche,  a French  philoso- 
pher of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  we  may  ‘‘see  all 
things  in  God.’’  Undoubtedly  expressions  of  this  kind 
are  liable  to  be  perverted.  But  if  they  merely  mean,  — 
the  more  we  know  of  God,  the  more  we  know  what  is  in 


70 


DIVINE  UNION. 


him,  and  what  3omes  from  him,  — they  convey  a great 
truth.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  we  cannot  see  all 
things  in  God,  \vhile  we  ourselves  are  out  of  God.  Our 
own  relations  to  God  must  first  he  properly  adjusted. 
As  perception  depends  not  only  upon  the  perceptive 
power,  but  partly  upon  the  position  in  which  it  is  placed, 
we  must  be  placed  right  before  we  can  see  right.  Un- 
doubtedly, if  we  place  ourselves  in  the  divine  centre,  and 
let  our  minds  run  in  the  channel  of  the  divine  radiations, 
we  shall  see  all  things  in  the  divine  light.  If  God 
glows  in  the  stars,  and  blossoms  in  the  trees,’’  he  must 
have  realized  them  in  idea,  before  he  realized  them  in 
creation.  And  if  we  see  them  in  the  outward  manifes- 
tation, it  is  possible  also  to  see  them  in  the  divine  centre. 
The  universe  is  nothing  more,  and  can  be  nothing  more, 
than  the  outward  letter  of  the  infinite  thought ; the  full- 
blown beauty  of  the  central  conception.  The  stars  and 
the  fiowers  were  in  the  divine  bosom  before  they  were 
planted  in  the  earth  and  the  sky. 

And  this  truth  is  universal.  It  applies  to  everything 
which  is  created.  It  applies  to  outward  nature.  It 
applies  to  man.  It  applies  to  all  the  powers  of  man. 
They  are  all  developments  from  God. 

3.  But  admitting  this  to  be  the  case,  and  admitting, 
especially,  that  the  instruments  of  our  knowledge  are  all 
of  divine  origin,  the  question  still  rema.u>.  ~ :ii  what 
way  shall  we  rightly  and  successfully  apply  aiem  I They 
come  from  God.  Can  they  be  sustained,  and  operate 
rightly,  without  him  ? 

If  it  be  said  that  we  can  properly  and  successfully 
guide  them  by  means  of  our  own  knowledge,  the  inquiry 
still  remains,  — what  are  the  instruments,  and  what  are 
the  sources  of  knowledge  back  of  them,  by  which  such 
guidance  is  thus  secured  ? Guidance  implies  a guiding 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


71 


power.  A guiding  power  implies  perception.  But  what, 
and  where,  is  that  higher  perceptive  power  in  man, 
which  thus  enables  him  to  guide  his  faculties?  Look 
for  it  carefully, — scrutinize  the  secret  places  of  the  intel- 
lect,,— and  you  cannot  find  it,  except  in  God  himself, 
present  and  operating  in  the  intellect. 

We  can  come  to  no  conclusion;  we  find  ourselves 
reasoning  continually  in  a circle,  except  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  God,  in  the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  as 
the  spiritual  administrator  of  the  soul,  continues  to  be 
present  with,  and  to -guide,  the  powers  which  he  at  first 
created.  When  left  to  themselves,  or  when  guided  by 
any  supposed  power  in  man  separate*  from  God,  they 
rush  continually  into  error. 

4.  The  truth  is,  that  any  action  of  man’s  faculties, 
without  the  presence  and  inspiration  of  the  mighty 
master  of  the  mind  who  made  them,  is  not  guidance, 
but  merely  action.  If  man  is  in  harmony  with  his 
Maker,  he  is  in  harmony  with  all  moral  truths  and  rela- 
tions, and  his  faculties,  under  such  circumstances,  cannot 
fail  to  be  rightly  guided.  Being  in  harmony  with  their 
Maker,  their  Maker  becomes  their  life.  If  man  is  out  of 
harmony  with  God,  and  just  in  proportion  as  this  is  the 
case,  his  faculties  are  not  guided.  They  may  be  said  to 
act,  and  it  is  action  only.  Sometimes  the  action  is 
violent.  There  is  the  action  of  impulse,  the  action  of 
selfish  passion,  the  action  of  contradiction  and  strife ; but 
there  is  no  true  guidance.  The  rightful  authority,  the 
authority  which  would  carry  them  to  their  true  goal,  is 
in  abeyance.  Like  another  Phaeton,  man  has  seized  the 
reins  of  this  chariot  of  fire ; but  the  steeds  know  that  it 
is  not  the  hand  of  the  true  Apollo,  and,  phrenzied  in  the 
want  of  that  mastership  which  they  need,  they  rush 
wildly  on  to  destruction. 


72 


DIVINE  UNION. 


5.  In  further  support  of  the  general  doctrine,  that  ali 
knowledge  is  in  God,  and  that  human  knowledge  is 
based  upon  the  divine,  we  may  very  justly  make  a dis- 
tinction, which  is  applicable  in  some  cases  at  least, 
between  knowledge  and  the  truth ; — meaning  by  the 
term  truth,  complete  or  perfected  kfioivledge.  And  in  this 
sense,  whatever  amount  of  knowledge  man  has,  God 
alone  has  the  truth.  From  no  other  source  can  the  truth 
come.  It  is  impossible  that  man  should  have  it,  unless 
he  has  it  from  God.  Truth,  in  the  fragmentary  form  of 
parts,  in  which  form  it  is  com_mumcated  to  all  created 
beings,  can  never  be  known  as  truth,  and  authenticated 
as  such,  except  by  some  being  who  knows  it  as  a whole, 
and  knows  it  as  it  really  is,  and  is,  therefore,  in  a situa- 
tion to  communicate  it  in  parts.  To  us  it  must  come  in 
fragments,  because  our  minds  are  not  broad  enough  and 
deep  enough  to  receive  it  in  any  other  way.  And  this 
being  the  case,  we  can  have  no  assurance  that  it  is  the 
truth;  except  so  far  as  it  comes  from  God. 

6.  A man,  for  instance,  performs  a certain  act.  He 
knows  what  is  done,  so  far  as  the  present  action  is  con- 
cerned. But  not  knowing  the  relations  and  ultimate 
effects  of  the  action,  his  knowledge  is  imperfect.  He 
cannot  be  said  to  have  the  truth  in  the  case,  certainly 
not  the  essential  or  absolute  truth,  because  that  action, 
of  which  he  seems  to  have  a full  knowledge,  may  affect, 
favorably  or  unfavorably,  the  interests  and  happiness 
of  thousands  of  beings,  and  for  generations  to  come. 
And  of  this  he  does  not  even  pretend  to  know.  It  is 
impossible,  therefore,  that  we  should  take  a single  step 
with  certainty  and  safety,  however  inconsiderable  it  may 
seem  to  be,  except  so  far  as  we  take  God  as  our  guide. 

7.  Such  are  the  views  of  enlightened  reason  on  this 
subject.  The  Scriptures,  also,  are  abundantly  explicit. 
They  everywhere  assert,  either  expressly  or  by  implica- 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE.  73 

tion,  that  man  needs,  and  that  he  must  have,  a divine 
guidance.  Without  such  guidance  men  do  not  under- 
stand, they  have  not  a correct  appreciation,  even  of  that 
which  is  directly  before  them.  Without  the  divine  light 
placed  in  the  centre,  it  will  always  be  true,  as  is  said  of 
them  in  Matthew  and  in  Isaiah,  that  by  hearing  they 
shall  hear,  and  shall  not  understand;  and  seeing  they 
shall  see,  and  shall  not  perceive.’’=^  During  forty  years 
the  miracles  of  God  were  performed  in  the  wilderness, 
miracles  of  the  most  wonderful  nature ; but  there  was 
no  correct  appreciation  of  them,  merely  because  there 
was  an  absence  of  God’s  light  in  the  soul,  a want  of  the 
divine  eye  in  the  centre.  Hence  that  remarkable  pas- 
sage in  Deuteronomy:  “And  Moses  called  unto  all 
Israel,  and  said  unto  them.  Ye  have  seen  all  that  the 
Lord  did  before  your  eyes  in  the  land  of  Egypt  unto 
Pharaoh,  and  unto  all  his  servants,  and  unto  all  his 
land ; the  great  temptations  which  thine  eyes  have  seen, 
the  signs,  and  those  great  miracles ; yet  the  Lord  hath 
not  given  you  a heart  to  perceive^  and  eyes  to  see,  and 
ears  to  hear,  unto  this  day?^ 

8.  Looking,  therefore,  at  the  subject  in  various  points 
of  view,  we  come  to  the  conclusion,  first,  that  all 
knowledge  exists  necessarily  in  God;  secondly,  that 
human  knowledge,  so  far  as  it  can  be  called  the  truth, 
or  true  knowledge,  is  based  upon  the  divine.  The  fact 
is,  that  we  can  no  more  dissociate  ourselves  from  God 
in  the  matter  of  knowledge,  (understanding  by  the  term, 
true  knowledge  or  the  truth,)  than  we  can  in  that  of 
physical  existence.  God  did  not  create  the  body,  which 
is  the  inferior  and  less  difficult  work,  and  leave  the  mind 
to  create  itself.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  man  can  no 
more  create  his  mental  nature  than  he  can  create  his 

13:  14. 

7 


74 


DIVINE  UNION. 


physical  nature.  He  can  no  more  create  the  attributes 
of  his  mental  nature,  its  powers  or  faculties,  than  he  can 
create  those  of  his  physical  nature.  And  if,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  the  moral  freedom  with  which  he  is  endowed, 
he  may  make  the  effort,  independently  of  God,  to  sustain 
them  in  their  right  exercise,  the  endeavor,  however  sin- 
cerely it  may  be  made,  will  be  found  to  be  ineffectual. 
He  will  necessarily  fail  in  all  such  efforts,  because,  in 
substituting  the  finite  for  the  infinite,  in  resting  upon 
himself  instead  of  God,  he  has  chosen  means  that  are 
wholly  inadequate  to  the  result.  The  Saviour  himself 
says,  have  not  spoken  of  myself  [that  is  to  say,  by 
any  source  of  knowledge  or  wisdom  in  myself,]  but  the 
Father  which  sent  me,  he  gave  me  a commandment, 
what  I should  say,  and  what  I should  speak.’’  Sepa- 
rate from  God,  therefore,  we  are  separate  from  the  truth. 

9.  How  wise,  then,  is  the  man,  who,  adopting  these 
great  principles,  renounces  his  own  wisdom  as  vain,  and 
seeks  the  true  wisdom  in  God  alone ! The  truth,  or 
perfection,  of  man  is  realized,  when,  by  his  own  volun- 
tary consent,  he  has  God  in  him  as  the  central  principle, 
not  more  truly  of  his  physical  than  of  his  mental  nature. 
He  neither  alienates  nor  violates  his  moral  freedom  by 
accepting  God  as  his  teacher.  On  the  contrary,  it  is 
then,  and  then  only,  that  he  realizes  the  consummation 
of  his  liberty. 

10.  O Thou,  who  art  the  Truth,  because  thou  hast 
all  knowledge  in  thyself,  and  understandest  all  things 
in  the  end  as  well  as  in  the  beginning,  guide  us  into  the 
truth,  that  ^4he  truth  may  make  us  free!  ” We  have 
eyes,  but  without  thee  we  see  not ; — we  have  ears, 
but  without  thee  we  hear  not.  ^‘Incline  our  ears  to 
wisdom,  and  apply  our  hearts  to  understanding.”^ 


* Prov.  2 : 2. 


CHAPTER  III. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  KNOWLEDGE  WHICH  IS  FROM  GOD. 

The  divine  authorship  of  knowledge  not  determined  by  the  character 
of  its  object.  — Illustrations.  — Knowledge  from  God  susceptible  of 
every  variety  of  form,  — Knowledge  from  God,  a gift.  — Is  always 
in  harmony  with  existing  providences.  — It  changes  its  object,  but 
never  wanders  from  its  author. — Concluding  remarks. 

It  will  be  the  object  of  this  chapter  to  indicate  some 
of  the  marks,  or  traits,  that  characterize  the  knowledge 
which  is  from  God. 

The  first  remark,  in  regard  to  the  knowledge  which 
may  properly  be  ascribed  to  God  as  its  author,  is,  that  its 
divine  authorship  is  not  necessarily  determined  by  the 
character  of  the  object,  whatever  it  may  be,  to  which 
such  knowledge  relates.  God,  for  instance,  may  be  an 
object  of  knowledge  ; but  it  does  not  follow,  that  to  have 
knowledge  o/God  is  the  same  thing  as  to  have  knowl- 
edge from  God.  The  unbelieving  philosopher,  who 
explores  the  laws  of  nature,  sometimes  elevates  his 
thoughts  from  the  thing  made  to  the  Maker ; but  it  can- 
not be  said  of  him,  certainly  not  in  the  proper  and  full 
sense  of  the  terms,  that  he  is  a man  taught  of  God. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  of  this  class  of  persons  that  the 
apostle  Paul  speaks,  Avhen  he  says,  they  know  God 
without  glorifying  him  as  God. 

Many  persons  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 


76 


DIVINE  UNION. 


Bible  in  many  respects.  They  are  acquainted  with  its 
geography,  its  history,  its  poetry,  its  doctrines;  — so 
much  so  as  to  be  in  advance,  in  these  particulars,  of 
many  devout  Christians.  But  when  we  consider  their 
unbelief,  their  immoralities,  their  practical  disregard  of 
the  knowledge  which  they  possess,  we  cannot  with  pro- 
priety speak  of  them  as  subjects  of  a divine  teaching. 
The  knowledge  which  they  have  is  from  themselves^ 
and  therefore  is  mixed  with  many  errors,  and  often  leads 
to  the  most  unhappy  results.  The  Pharisees,  who  were 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  had  a personal  knowledge  of  the  Saviour, 
seem  to  be  an  illustration  of  these  remarks. 

2.  A second  remark  is,  that  divine  knowledge,  or  that 
knowledge  which  is  to  be  ascribed  to  God  as  its  author, 
is  susceptible  of  every  possible  variety  of  form.  This 
remark  seems  naturally  to  follow  from  what  has  already 
been  said.  As  the  divine  authorship  of  knowledge  does 
not  depend  upon  its  objects,  it  follows  that  the  knoAvl- 
edge  which  is  from  God  is  not  limited  to  any  particular 
class  of  objects,  but  is,  or  may  be,  knowledge  upon  all 
possible  topics ; upon  things  merely  prudential ; upon 
things  of  a moral  or  religious  nature ; upon  all  matters 
and  things,  whatever,  which  can  possibly  be  the  subjects 
of  human  thought.  The  thoughts,  therefore,  which  God 
gives,  are  not  necessarily  thoughts  of  himself^  nor  of 
Christ,  nor  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  nor  of  heaven,  nor  of  any 
particular  person  or  theme  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  how- 
ever interesting  or  sacred  they  may  be  supposed  to  be. 
A man  in  a right  frame  of  mind  may  erect  a house,  or 
may  lay  out  and  cultivate  his  fields,  or  may  build  and 
send  abroad  his  ship  upon  the  ocean,  and  he  may  say 
with  propriety,  (and,  indeed,  ought  always  to  be  able  to 
say  so,)  that,  in  doing  these  things,  or  any  other  things, 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


rr 


he  is  called  to  do,  he  is  taught  of  God,  It  is  God’s  pre- 
rogative and  delight  to  originate  and  direct  a man’s 
thoughts  in  affairs  of  every  day’s  concern,  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  particular  trade  or  calling,  in  the  matter  of  his 
farm  and  merchandise,  as  well  as  in  othe'r  things.  As 
there  is  no  object  of  thought  in  the  whole  universe  which 
makes  the  thought  itself  either  good  or  evil,  so  the  prin- 
ciple of  thought,  subject  only  to  a divine  guidance,  is 
left  free  to  range  everywhere,  and  to  select  and  to  delight 
itself  in  everything  which  can  be  thought  of. 

3.  With  these  negative  remarks,  that  the  divine 
authorship  of  thoughts  does  not  depend  upon  the  objects 
to  which  they  relate,  and,  also,  that  it  is  not  limited  to 
any  particular  class  of  objects,  we  proceed  to  say  affirm- 
atively, that  the  thoughts  which  are  from  God,  just  so 
far  as  they  have  a divine  origin,  are  characterized  by 
the  fact  that  they  are  a gift  rather  than  an  acquisition ; 
— something  originated  from  the  Divine  Mind^  although 
it  may  and  does  have  an  inward  and  personal  develop# 
ment.  The  man  who  is  taught  of  God  will  be  inwardly 
conscious,  without  ceasing  to  be  conscious  of  his  personal 
activity  and  responsibility,  or  at  least  will  ha\e  an 
inward  and  firm  conviction,  that  he  is  the  subject  of 
communications  which  are  not  from  himself.  And  as 
the  result  of  these  interior  intimations,  he  will  feel 
authorized  in  saying,  as  Christians  in  all  ages  have 
done,  God  hath  given  me  understanding.” 

“ We  have  received,”  says  the  apostle  Paul,  ^^not  the 
spirit  which  is  of  the  world,  but  the  spirit  which  is  of 
God,  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are  freely 
given  to  us  of  God ; which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in 
the  words  which  man’s  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  teacheth.”  1 Cor.  2 : 12,  13.  In  a very 
remarkable  passage,  which  is  worthy  of  the  most  serious 


i 


78 


DIVINE  UNION. 


consideralion,  the  blessed  Saviour  himself  says,  “And 
ye  shall  be  brought  before  governors  and  kings  for  my 
sake,  for  a testimony  against  them  and  the  Gentiles. 
But  when  they  deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought  how  or 
what  ye  shall  speak,  for  it  shall  he  given  you  in  that 
same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that 
speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  which  speaketh  in 
you^ 

4.  It  may  be  remarked,  again,  that  the  knowledge 
which  is  of  divine  origin  is  characterized,  in  the  second 
place,  by  always  being  in  harmony  with  existing  provi- 
dences ; that  is  to  say,  it  will  be  found  appropriate  to 
the  incidents  of  time,  place,  and  circumstances. 

God,  being  perfect,  is  always  in  harmony  with  him- 
self. His  acts  are  not  discordant.  If  God  originates 
thoughts  in  a man,  he  will  always  make  them  in  keep- 
ing with  tlie  time,  the  place,  and  situation.  The  holy 
man,  having  his  thoughts  from  God,  although  he  thinks 
Oil  a great  variety  of  subjects,  thinks  just  what  he  ought 
to  think.  He  thinks  of  eternity  or  of  time,  of  God  or  of 
the  creatures  of  God,  of  himself  or  of  his  neighbor ; and 
he  thinks  of  each  in  the  appropriate  time  and  degree  of 
thinking.  And  the  thoughts  which  he  bestows  on  what 
are  sometimes  called  worldly  objects,  coming  as  they  do 
from  God,  are  not  less  acceptable  to  him  from  v/hom 
they  came,  than  the  apparently  but  not  really  more 
religious  thoughts  which  he  has  in  a place  of  worship. 

5.  Another,  and  third,  characteristic  of  the  knowledge 
which  originates  from  God,  is,  that  the  thoughts  which 
God  imparts  can  never  be  said  to  wander  from  himself. 
It  is  true  that  they  often  change  their  objects;  but  the 
fact  of  a change  of  object  does  not  necessarily  imply  an 
alienation  or  change  of  authorship.  Varying  with  the 
character  of  the  person  who  is  the  subject  of  them,  and 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


79 


with  the  situations  in  which  he  is  placed,  they  diversify 
themselves  v'ery  much,  and  attach  themselves  to  a multi- 
tude of  objects ; but  so  long  as  it  can  be  said  of  them 
that  they  come  from  God.  it  can  also  be  said  that  they 
carry  God  with  them  wherever  they  go.  They  never 
wander  from  God.  True  to  their  centre  of  origin,  they 
bear  upon  their  wings,  in  their  widest  and  most  eccentric 
flights,  the  light  and  love  of  the  Divinity.  Like  the  bee 
that  lights  upon  flowers  of  every  form  and  hue.  they  find 
the  honey  of  God’s  presence  everywhere. 

This  is  an  important  view  to  persons  whose  shattered 
nerves  embarrass  and  weaken  their  mental  action,  or 
whose  imaginations,  naturally  active  and  vivid,  are  not 
perfectly  under  the  control  of  the  will.  Whether  it  be 
owing  to  too  great  strength  or  too  great  weakness,  God 
will  never  condemn  them  for  the  direction  which  their 
thoughts  take,  so  long  as  he  is  allowed  to  go  with  them. 

6.  We  conclude  this  topic  with  one  remark  more. 
God,  as  the  giver  of  thought,  acts  as  a sovereign.  He 
not  only  inspires  and  guides  mental  action  in  those  who 
have  fully  given  themselves  to  him,  but  he  sometimes 
represses  it.  A God  equally  in  the  light  and  the  dark- 
ness, he  gives  and  he  withholds  as  he  thinks  best.  Nor 
should  this  cause  us  any  dissatisfaction.  A view  of  a 
thing  which  gives  us  only  very  imperfect  knowledge, 
if  it  comes  from  God,  is  better  than  perfected  knowledge 
which  comes  from  any  other  source.  It  is  sometimes 
well  for  us  to  be  ignorant,  in  order  that,  having  a sense 
of  our  ignorance,  we  may  appreciate  more  fully  the 
source  of  true  wisdom.  The  ignorance  of  the  intellect, 
when  it  is  properly  understood,  can  hardly  fail  to  teach  a 
valuable  lesson  of  humility  to  the  dispositions.  Faith, 
also,  which  is  excluded  by  perfect  knowledge,  may  be 
taught  in  the  same  way.  And  whenever  and  wherever 


80 


DIVINE  UNION. 


it  can  be  said  of  a man  that  he  is  taught  of  God,  it  can 
also  be  said  that  he  is  a humble  and  believing  man. 

‘^If  any  man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this 
world,’’  says  the  apostle,  let  him  become  a fool^  that 
he  may  be  wise.”  1 Cor.  3 : 18.  The  weapons  of 
our  warfare,”  he  says,  in  another  passage,  ‘^are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty,  through  God^  to  the  pulling  down  of 
strong  holds,  casting  down  imaginations^  and  every 
high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  bringing  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ.” 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ON  THE  GRADUAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  DIVINE  KNOWLEDGE. 

The  knowledge  of  God  always  the  same.  — Communicated  to  men  in 
fragments  or  parts,  and  at  successive  periods  of  time.  — The  divine 
communication  always  modified  by  changes  of  circumstances.  — Of 
the  truths  appropriate  to  particular  periods  of  history.  — Ushered  in 
by  appropriate  preparations.  — Illustrations.  — The  coming  of  Christ. 

All  knowledge  is  in  God,  without  addition  and  with- 
out change.  His  knowledge,  as  we  have  been  enabled 
to  see  in  the  remarks  of  the  preceding  chapters,  is  not 
knowledge  by  acquisition,  but  knowledge  by  nature. 
As  knowledge  exists  in  God  by  nature,  it  exists  there 
without  beginning  and  without  end,  and  is  as  full  and 
permanent  as  the  divine  existence  is ; — embracing  and 
absorbing  in  its  infinity  all  other  forms  and  degrees  of 
knowledge.  God  never  knew  more,  and  never  knew 
less,  and  never  knew  otherwise,  than  he  now  does. 

When,  therefore,  we  propose  to  speak  of  the  gradual 
development  of  the  divine  knowledge,  which  is  the 
subject  of  the  present  chapter,  we  do  not  mean  the  grad- 
ual development  of  God's  knowledge  to  himself^  but  to 
his  creatures. 

2.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  creatures 
of  God,  however  exalted  they  may  be,  are  unable,  from 
a want  of  mental  capacity,  to  receive  all  the  knowledge 
which  God  has.  They  can  be  the  recipients  of  the 
divine  knowledge  only  in  part ; and  such  is  the  constitu- 
tion :f  created  minds,  that  they  receive  the  knowledge 


82 


DIVINE  UNION. 


which  they  have,  not  simultaneously,  but  in  successive 
periods  of  time,  and  generally  in  small  portions.  And 
thus  every  moment,  always  commissioned  with  its  ap- 
propriate message,  reveals  something  new;  furnishing, 
as  it  passes  by,  a new  channel  of  communication,  a new 
opening  between  the  divine  mind  and  created  minds. 
And  in  this  way  God  is  revealed  to  us,  if  we  are  in  a 
situation  to  understand  and  receive  him,  moment  by 
moment.  He  refreshes  us  with  the  daily  and  continual 
bread  of  knowledge. 

3.  Ordinarily  this  knowledge  is  particular,  and  has 
relation  to  our  own  persons,  and  our  own  affairs; 
but  it  always  comes  to  us  with  the  freshness  of  a new 
communication,  because  it  is  always  modified  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  existing  moment.  The  bright  or 
clouded  sky  of  to-day  is  not  the  sky  of  yesterday.  The 
man  of  to-day  is  not  the  same  man,  nor  surrounded  by 
the  same  influences,  nor  the  subject  of  the  same  provi- 
dences, as  the  man  of  yesterday.  There  are  forms  or 
modifications  of  knowledge,  appropriate  to  the  conditions 
of  youth  and  age,  of  poverty  and  riches,  of  subjection 
and  government,  and  of  other  conditions,  which  are  mod- 
ified by  the  changes  of  each  passing  hour.  The  knowl- 
edge, therefore,  which  is  appropriate  and  necessary  now, 
could  not  have  been  equally  appropriate  and  necessary 
in  any  antecedent  period.  It  comes,  therefore,  with  the 
attribute  of  novelty ; and  as  it  is  necessary  in  order  to 
the  fulfilment  of  duty,  it  is  always  acceptable  and 
refreshing  to  the  consecrated  and  pious  soul. 

4.  But  God  develops  truth,  which  is  appropriate  to 
communities  and  nations,  as  well  as  to  individuals. 
Some  of  the  general  truths,  which  are  held  in  the  keep- 
ing of  divine  wisdom,  are  especially  appropriate,  in  the 
view  of  that  wisdom,  to  particular  periods  in  the  history 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


83 


of  the  world.  The  truth,  both  that  which  is  pardcular 
and  that  which  is  general,  though  eternal  by  generation, 
has  its  announcement,  its  birth,  in  time.  So  that  knowl- 
edge, as  well  as  everything  else,  has  its  providence. 
The  Saviour  himself  said  to  his  disciples  on  a certain 
occasion:  “I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but 
ye  cannot  bear  them  now.’’  The  wisdom  of  Providence 
appreciates  not  only  the  thing  to  be  done,  but  the  time 
of  doing  it ; not  only  the  truth  to  be  Communicated,  but 
the  position  of  those  who  are  to  hear  and  to  receive  it. 
The  announcement  to  the  patriarchs,  which  confirmed 
the  forbearance  and  goodness  of  God,  inspired  hope. 
‘‘In  thy  seed,”  said  God  to  Abraham,  “shall  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed ; because  thou  hast  obeyed 
my  voice.”  The  declarations  of  the  law  of  Sinai,  re- 
vealed in  the  terrible  emblems  of  thunder  and  fire,  dis- 
closed the  height  from  which  men  had  fallen,  in  showing 
the  purity  and  greatness  of  the  God  against  whom  they 
had  rebelled.  And  thus,  from  time  to  time,  there  have 
been  developments  of  the  divine  thought  and  the  divine 
purpose,  suited  to  the  existing  condition  of  things,  and 
the  gradually  fulfilling  destinies  of  humanity. 

5.  It  is  not  enough  to  say,  that  every  great  moral 
truth  has  its  appropriate  time,  as  well  as  its  appropriate 
character.  It  will  be  found,  also,  that  every  such  truth, 
(and  the  same  may  be  said  of  every  great  political  and 
scientific  truth,)  will  be  ushered  in  by  preparations  and 
instrumentalities  which  are  especially  suited  to  it.  And 
this  is  so  much  the  case,  that  the  truth  cannot  possibly 
come,  at  least  it  cannot  possibly  be  received  and  appre- 
ciated as  truth,  independently  of  such  preparations.  It 
was  necessary  that  civilization  should  advance  to  a cer- 
tain degree,  before  the  Athenians  were  prepared  to 
receive  and  to  carry  out  the  truth  involved  in  the  institu- 


84 


DIVINE  UNION. 


tions  of  Solon.  But  as  soon,  in  the  course  of  Providence, 
as  the  preparations  were  completed,  God  constituted  and 
sent  forth  the  thought^  if  we  may  so  express  it,  that  is 
to  say,  the  legislative  mind^  that  was  appropriate  to  the 
time  and  the  mission.  Whether  the  Grecian  legislator 
knew  and  recognized  himself  as  the  subject  of  a divine 
instrumentality,  or,  being  gifted  with  the  possessions  of 
wisdom,  was  ignorant  of  the  God  who  gave  and  directed 
them,  makes  no  difference  as  to  the  fact.  And  thus  God 
has  his  forerunners,  and  his  preparations,  and  his  instru- 
ments, not  only  in  legislation,  but  in  science,  in  morals, 
in  everything. 

6.  Romulus,  the  founder  of  the  Roman  state,  was 
not  an  inhabitant  of  Judea,  but  was  born  in  a region 
very  remote,  and  at  that  time  entirely  unknown  to  the 
Jews.  But  it  was  necessary  that  Romulus,  who  sus- 
tained relations  unknown  to  himself,  should  make  his 
appearance  in  the  world,  that  he  should  have  his  birth 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  and  that  he  should  accom- 
plish his  work  as  the  author  of  new  and  important 
institutions,  before  Christ  came.  The  Roman  empire, 
which  dates  from  the  grandson  of  Numitor,  was  estab- 
lished, and  extended  its  arms  over  the  world,  and  brought 
all  nations  into  one,  in  order  to  furnish  a suitable  oppor- 
tunity for  the  entrance  of  truth  into  the  world,  in  the 
person  of  the  Prince  of  peace. 

7.  In  the  fulness  of  time  the  Son  of  God  came.  But 
he  did  not  and  could  not  come  until  all  the  requisite 
preparations  were  fulfilled.  As  Jesus  came  in  his  appro- 
priate time,  so  he  came  with  his  appropriate  mission. 
The  messages  of  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  of  wise 
men,  m various  ages  of  the  world,  according  to  the  light 
which  had  been  given  to  them,  had  been  communicated 
to  the  world.  But  the  imperfect  revelation  of  those  who 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


85 


had  gone  before  was  made  clearer,  and  established  with 
stronger  confirmations  at  the  coming  of  Christ. 

God,  who  at  sundry  times,  and  in  divers  manners, 
spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets, 
hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son.’’=^ 
God  had  a revelation  of  truth,  which  neither  the  circum- 
stances of  the  earlier  times,  nor  the  imperfections  of  the 
earlier  teachers,  allowed  to  be  made  before.  When  the 
time  came,  the  truth  was  made  known.  But  it  is  to  be 
remarked  further,  that  in  a world  of  error  the  truth  can- 
not come  into  full  development  without  a struggle. 
Those,  therefore,  who  announce  and  illustrate  the  truth, 
are  necessarily  called  to  endure  trials.  Accordingly, 
Christ  was  a sufierer,  as  well  as  a teacher.  Perhaps  we 
ought  to  say,  in  view  of  the  circumstances  of  his  life, 
that  he  taught  in  sufieririg,  and  hy  suffering.  Certain  it 
is,  that  his  message,  which  was  spoken  in  tears,  and 
sometimes  in  agony,  was  at  last  written  in  blood.  In 
those  sublime  words,  uttered  upon  the  cross,  it  is 
FINISHED,  men  learned  the- memorable,  the  overwhelming 
truth,  of  a redemption  completed. 

8.  In  the  teachings  of  the  Saviour  and  his  followers, 
uttered  on  various  occasions,  we  have  many  important 
truths,  not  fully  understood  at  the  time  when  uttered, 
and  perhaps  not  fully  understood  now,  but  Avhich  will  be 
comprehended  when  lighted  up  by  Providence,  and  when 
seen  in  the  renewed  and  adequate  preparation  of  the 
human  mind.  One  of  the  great  announcements  to  which 
we  refer,  is  the  truth  of  universal  brotherhood,  involving 
the  cessation  of  war,  and  the  restoration  of  universal 
peace.  This  is  a truth  which  may  be  said  to  be  written 
in  letters  of  light  on  the  pages  of  the  Gospel ; but  the 

* Heb.  1 : 1,  2. 

8 


86 


DIVINE  UNION. 


human  mind,  being  thrown  out  of  its  true  position  by 
sin,  has  not  been  able  to  receive  it  until  very  lately.  A 
century  or  more  since,  the  doctrines  of  universal  peace 
were  proposed  and  illustrated  in  Europe,  by  Castel  de 
St.  Pierre,  a learned  French  ecclesiastic;  but  were 
received  with  incredulity,  and  very  much  as  if  he  were 
preaching  a dream.  They  have  been  propounded  again 
within  a few  years,  and  after  the  experience  of  an  addi- 
tional century  of  fighting  and  destruction.  They  now 
everywhere  meet  with  a respectful  hearing.  It  is  the 
same  in  other  instances.  There  are  other  practical 
truths,  — truths  originating  in  the  divine  mind,  and 
flowing  from  God  to  man  through  the  mind  of  Christ, — 
which  have  received  a new  development,  and  which 
the  providence  of  God  is  holding  up  for  a new  and  gen- 
eral reception  in  the  present  age ; — the  religion  of  Christ 
in  its  simplicity,  the  reign  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  rela- 
tion of  temperance  to  happiness,  the  universality  of  civil 
freedom,  the  rights  of  moral  and  religious  belief,  universal 
education,  and  in  every  heart  a living  and  triumphant 
holiness,  modelled  on  that  of  the  Saviour. 

9.  God  is  moving  on  the  troubled  Avaters.  It  Avas 
thus  in  the  beginning.  There  was  a time  when  the 
beauty  of  nature  Avas  an  idea,  undeveloped  and  unreal- 
ized. Light  existed  in  God,  but  darkness  was  on  the 
face  of  the  deep.’’  No  sun  was  then,  no  star,  no  swelling 
and  teeming  earth.  “ The  earth  was  without  form  and 
void;”  but  when  the  time  came  for  the  realization  of  the 
truth  and  beauty  of  the  divine . idea  in  material  forms, 
then  “the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters.”  The  confusion  of  chaos  stood  rebuked;  the 
light  shone;  the  waters  subsided  to  their  place;  the 
blooming  earth  appeared. 

At  this  moment,  at  this  eventful  hour  in  the  history 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE.  . 


87 


of  eternal  wisdom,  the  Spirit  of  the  same  creating  God 
is  secretly,  but  pov,^erfully,  moving  on  the  troubled  and 
chaotic  ocean  of  humanity.  The  chaos,  which  is  pre- 
sented before  us  on  every  side,  is  wider,  and  deeper,  and 
darker,  than  that  of  primitive  nature,  because  it  is  the 
terrible  chaos  of  moral  rebellion.  But  here,  too,  the 
Spirit  of  God  will  be" conqueror.  He,  who  separated  the 
contending  elements  of  nature,  and  recombined  them 
into  forms  of  wisdom  and  loveliness,  will  not  be  baffled 
in  his  great  attempt  to  erect  and  consolidate  the  king- 
dom of  God,”  out  of  the  confusions  of  a fallen  nature. 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 

^limitations  of  the  general  statement. — Union  in  knowledge  involves 
three  things,  namely,  union  in  the  motive,  the  object,  and  the  source 
of  knowledge.  — Results  and  encouragements  attending  the  union 
of  God  and  man  in  these  respects. 

The  result  of  Christ’s  coming  into  the  world,  and  of 
the  sanctifying  power  which  is  communicated  through 
him,  will  be  to  restore  man  to  harmony  with  God  in  all 
parts  of  his  nature.  In  an  important  sense  it  will  be 
found  true  that  man  and  God,  who  have  been  greatly 
separated  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  respects,  will  at  last 
be  united  again  in  knowledge. 

It  should  be  remarked,  however,  that,  when  we  speak 
of  the  union  of  human  with  divine  knowledge,  we^  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  our  knowledge,  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  will  be  as  extensive  as  the  divine 
knowledge,  which  would  be  impossible;  nor  that  we 
shall  be  likely  in  the  present  life,  (certainly  not  in  the 
present  period  of  the  world.)  to  see  the  facts  and  relations 
of  things  with  a divine  distinctness  of  vision.  This 
would  be  inconsistent  with  that  injured  and  imperfect 
instrumentality  of  perception  which  is  found  in  our  dis- 
eased and  dying  bodies.  But  being  united  with  God  in 
knowledge,  we  shall  see  and  know  truly ^ though  it  may 
not  be  to  a great  extent.  We  shall  know  as  God  knows, 
and  entirely  in  harmony  with  him,  «o  far  as  he  thinks  it 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


89 


best  for  us  to  know.  Our  wisdom  will  have  its  basis  in 
h.s,  and  will  rest  upon  his,  in  such  a way  as  to  constitute 
true  wisdom. 

With  these  explanatory  remarks,  in  view,  we  proceed 
to  say,  that  the  union  of  God  and  man  in  knowledge 
involves  three  things: — first,  an  union  of  desire  or 
motive  in  seeking  knowledge ; secondly,  an  unity  or 
oneness  in  the  object  of  knowledge;  and,  thirdly,  an 
unity  in  the  source  of  knowledge. 

First,  there  must  be  an  union  of  desire  or  motive  in 
seeking  knowledge.  The  motive  in  which  God  conde- 
scends to  unite,  is  a motive  free  from  everything  that  is 
the  opposite  of  God.  It  is  a motive  without  private 
ends,  without  selfishness  in  any  of  its  aims,  a motive 
which  harmonizes  with  God’s  character,  with  God’s 
purposes,  with  God’s  glory.  It  was  a motive  thus  pure 
and  elevated,  which  always  influenced  him  who  came 
into  the  world  to  be  the  leader  and  guide  of  men.  “ My 
judgment,”  says  the  Saviour,  ^^is  just,  because  I seek  not 
mine  own  will^  but  the  will  of  the  Father  which  hath  sent 
me.”  John  5 : 30. 

To  seek  the  will  of  our  heavenly  Father,  is  to  act,  in  all 
cases  of  action,  without  party  prejudices,  without  private 
interests,  without  the  violence  of  passion ; but  always  with 
a sincere  regard  to  the  divine  purposes.  In  this  state  of 
mind,  which  is  most  suitable  for  the  constant  presence 
and  operations  of  tl\e  Holy  Spirit,  we  may  hope  to  be 
guided  into  the  truth.  It  would  be  difficult  to  describe 
how  easily  and  beautifully  the  light  of  true  knowledge 
enters  into  the  mind  of  one  who  is  thus  free  from  any 
inffuences  except  such  as  come  from  a regard  to  the 
will  of  God.  We  cannot  then  be  easily  separate  from 
the  truth,  because  we  harmonize,  in  such  an  important 
respect,  with  a mind  that  lives  in  tbe  truth, 

8* 


90 


DIVINE  UNION. 


2.  In  the  second  place,  the  union  of  God  and  man  in 
knowledge  implies  the  fact  of  an  unity  or  oneness  in  the 
object  of  knowledge.  That  is  to  say,  the  object  must  be 
not  one  of  our  own  choice,  but  of  God’s  choice.  And  it 
may  be  added,  here,  that  the  object  which  God  chooses 
and  presents  to  the  human  mind  for  its  consideration,  is 
that  object,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  entirely  harmo- 
nizes with  the  existing  state  of  things.  The  facts  and 
relations  of  things  are  so  ordered  under  the  divine  admin- 
istration, that  at  each  successive  moment  some  things 
are  more  important  to  be  known,  and  more  appropriate 
to  be  known  than  anything  else.  God,  as  the  true 
revealer  of  what  now  is  and  of  what  is  to  be  hereafter^ 
will  help  us  to  know  only  what  he  thinks  ought  to  be 
known.  He  will  not  help  us  in  the  knowledge  of  those 
things  which,  considered  as  the  objects  of  knowledge, 
may  be  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  the  proprieties  and 
wants  of  the  present  time  and  place,  and  of  the  existing 
situation  of  things.  He  will  not  help  us  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  those  things  which,  without  a regard  to  the  ap- 
propriateness of  what  now  is,  are  sought  merely  to 
gratify  a selfish  curiosity.  In  all  such  inquiries,  where 
we  selfishly  choose  our  own  object  instead  of  adopting 
and  receiving  the  object  which  God  presents,  the  human 
and  divine  mind  are  out  of  harmony. 

On  the  contrary,  when  we  seek  to  know  only  what 
God  would  have  us  know,  which  is  always  done  when 
our  minds  perfectly  harmonize  with  the  intimations 
of  Providence,  then  the  object  of  knowledge  becomes  one 
and  the  same  to  him  who  imparts  knowledge  and  to  him 
who  receives  it ; and  God  and  man  are  in  union. 

3.  And  this  view,  it  may  be  properly  added,  is  the 
more  interesting  and  the  more  practically  important, 
because  it  so  fully  recognizes  God  as  the  judge  of  what  is 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


91 


proper  or  no : proper  to  be  known.  Sovereign  here  as  in 
other  things,  he  not  only  retains  the  right  and  the  power 
of  commuri_cating  knowledge,  but  of  communicating 
what,  in  his  own  judgment,  he  sees  to  be  best.  It  is 
obviously  not  possible  for  him  to  communicate  all  knowl- 
edge to  a limited  mind,  that  can  receive  it  Only  in  parts. 
Adjusting,  therefore,  what  he  imparts  not  only  to  the 
capacity  of  the  recipient  but  to  the  attendant  circum- 
stances, he  gives  here  a little  and  there  a little  : casting 
brightness  around  the  skirts  of  the  clouds  which  over- 
hang us,  mingling  light  with  darkness  and  darkness 
with  light,  so  that  those  who  walk  in  some  things  in  the 
day  of  open  vision,  may  still  be  said  in  other  things  to 
walk  in  ^^the  night  of  faith,''^ 

4.  Again,  we  may  properly  speak  of  the  union  of  God 
and  man  in  knowledge,  when  there  is  an  unity  in  the 
source  of  knowledge.  There  is  and  can  be  but  one  true 
source  of  knowledge.  Man,  who  possesses  only  what  is 
given  him,  is  unable  to  originate  knowledge  from  him- 
self. He  can  have  no  true  knowledge,  no  true  wisdom, 
but  that  which  comes  from  a divine  source. 

The  great  Author  of  his  powers,  it  is  true,  has  given 
him  instruments  of  perception,  comparison,  and  reason- 
ing, with  which  he  can  apply  to  the  original  fountain  or 
ocean  of  truth,  which  exists  in  God  himself.  Througii 
these  instruments  knowledge  is  conveyed  from  the  source 
to  the  recipient.  And  it  is  not  more  true  that  the  help- 
less infant  derives  its  nourishment  from  the  bosom  of  its 
mother,  than  that  the  soul,  which  is  in  full  union  with 
God,  receives  the  nutriment  of  knowleage  from  God. 
All  that  such  an  one  has  to  do,  in  securing  this  result,  is 
to  pray  that  God  will  direct  the  instruments  he  has 
made; — believing  that  he  will  do  so  in  behalf  of  the 
souls  who  have  given  themselves  fully  to  him,  and  who 


92 


DIVINE  UNION. 


have  faith.  God  will  not  do  this  for  the  soul  which  has 
not  laid  itself  upon  his  altar.  Give  thyself  to  God,  there- 
fore, without  reserve,  and  in  the  exercise  of  a childlike 
confidence,  and  he,  who  has  promised  to  teach  men,  will 
n^t  fail  to  impart  true  wisdom. 

5.  It  is  in  this  state  of  things, — the  state  in  which  man 
is  united  with  God  in  wisdom, — that  we  find  the  truth  of 
that  interesting  passage  of  Scripture,  “ The  secret  of  the 
Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him,  and  he  will  show  them 
his  covenants.’’^  No  longer  a God  afar  off,  he  assumes 
a position  of  friendship  and  intimacy,  and  converses 
with  them,  as  it  were,  face  to  face.  By  secret  intima- 
tions, which  are  not  the  less  true  for  being  silent,  he 
explains  the  doctrines  of.  righteousness,  and  shows  the 
signs  of  his  coming. 

6.  And,  we  rnay  properly  add,  it  is  in  this  state  of 
things  that  we  find  one  great  ground  of  encouragement 
and  hope.  Knowledge  is  power  even  on  human  princi- 
ples, and  when  it  is  infused  more  or  less  with  human 
error.  What,  then,  shall  he  the  power  of  God’s  people, 
when  it  shall  be  said  of  them,  in  the  language  of  the 
prophets  and  of  the  Saviour,  A?id  they  shall  be  all 
taught  of  God^^?'\  I will  give  you  a mouth  and 
wisdom,”  says  the  Saviour  in  another  place,  which  all 
your  adversaries  shall  not  be  able  to  gainsay  nor  re- 
sist.”! True  it  is  that  the  voice  of  mere  human  wisdom, 
when  assuming  an  adverse  position,  has  but  little  power 
against  the  voice  of  God  speaking  from  a holy  heart. 
And  when  the  heart  of  the  church  shall  become  holy,  so 
that  the  voice  of  the  church  shall  be  synonymous  with  a 
declaration  from  the  God  of  the  church,  then  shall  the 
deaf  hear  and  the  unbelieving  be  convinced. 


* Ps  24 : 14. 


f John  6 : 25. 


% Luke  21 : 15. 


UNION  IN  KNOWLEDGE. 


93 


OH,  SEND  ONE  RAY  INTO  MY  SIGHTLESS  BALL. 

Oh,  send  one  ray  into  my  sightless  ball. 

Transmit  one  beam  into  my  darkened  heart ! 

On  thee,  Almighty  God,  on  thee  I call. 

Incline  thy  listening  ear,  thine  aid  impart ! 

In  vain  the  natural  sun  his  beams  doth  yield. 

In  vain  the  moon  illumes  the  fields  of  air ; 

The  eye-sight  of  my  soul  is  quenched  and  sealed. 

And  what  is  other  light  if  shades  are  there  ? 

Beyond  the  sun  and  moon  I lift  my  gaze. 

Where  round  thy  throne  a purer  light  is  spread. 

Where  seraphs  fill  their  urns  from  that  bright  blaze, 

And  angels’  souls  with  holy  fires  are  fed. 

Oh,  send  from  that  pure  fount  one  quickening  ray. 

And  change  these  inward  shades  to  bright  and  glorious  day ! 


PART  FOURTH. 


ON  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN 
IN  LOVE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  PURE  OR  HOLY  LOVE. 

Love  kis  a nature  of  its  own.  — No  love  without  an  object  of  love. — 
Its  nature  is  to  seek  its  object  without  a view  to  reward.  — Existence 
the  objBct  of  pure  love.  — Its  attractive  power.  — Pure  or  holy  love 
illustrated  in  the  Saviour.  — All  holy  beings  have  this  love. 

Union  with  God  in  knowledge  is  preparatory  to  union 
with  him  in  love.  In  the  order  of  nature,  knowledge  is 
first  in  time ; but  love  has  the  preeminence  in  excellence. 
As  it  is  a principle  nearer  the  centre  of  the  soul,  it  attracts 
and  concentrates  in  itself,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  more 
of  the  souFs  life.  We  proceed  now  to  the  consideration 
of  this  great  principle. 

Love,  like  everything  else,  has  its  own  nature.  Not 
identical  with  any  other  affection,  and  not  explainable 
by  the  laws  which  are  appropriate  to  any  other  affec- 
tion, it  stands  by  itself,  in  its  own  entity,  in  its  own 
attributes  and  form.  And  being  thus  separate  from 
every  other  affection,  there  is  something  true  of  it,  which 
is  not  true  of  anything  else.  It  is,  therefore,  a legit- 
imate subject  of  analysis  and  description. 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


95 


2.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  in  ofiering  some 
explanations  on  this  subject,  that  love  always  has  an 
object.  Love,  without  an  object  of  love,  would  be  incon- 
ceivable. It  would  be  as  difficult  to  conceive  of  such 
love,  as  it  would  be  to  conceive  of  an  act  of  memory 
without  something. remembered,  or  of  an  act  of  percep- 
tion without  something  perceived.  And  it  is  proper  to 
add,  that  this  object,  although  it  does  not  necessarily 
exclude  a regard  to  a person’s  own  interests,  is  generally 
found  in  interests  which  are  beyond  and  out  of  ourselves. 
Hence  it  is  a common  remark,  that  true  or  pure  love  is 
.9e^-forgetting. 

3.  Again,  it  is  one  of  the  traits  of  love,  that  it  does  not 
remain  quiescent  in  him  who  is  the  subject  of  it,  but  has 
a tendency  (a  tendency  which  is  inherent,  and  consti- 
tutes a part  of  its  nature)  to  move  or  flow  out  to  its 
object,  whatever  that  object  may  be.  It  is  the  object 
which  indicates  the  channel  in  which  it  must  flow,  and 
which  constitutes,  also,  the  termination  of  its  movement. 
Summoned  into  being  by  its  appropriate  object,  it  exists 
without  effort ; and,  flowing  in  the  channel  which  truth 
and  nature  have  marked  out  for  it,  it  asks  no  reward. 
If  it  expected  or  asked  for  anything,  which  might  prop- 
erly be  denominated  the  recompense  or  reward  of  its 
own  existence,  it  would  cease  to  be  love.  And  accord- 
ingly, if  it  be  required  to  give  a reason  for  its  existence, 
(separate  from  that  of  reward,  which  it  does  not  recog- 
nize as  a reason,)  it  can  only  say,  it  loves  because  it 
cannot  help  it,  or  because  it  has  a nature  which  makes 
it  love.  But  such  an  answer,  if  it  fails  to  announce  a 
reason,  at  least  announces  a fact;  a fact,  which,  if 
reason  fails  to  prove,  it  also  fails  to  annul.  No  one  asks 
why  the  sun  shines  when  it  is  above  the  horizon.  And 
the  light  of  love,  like  the  light  of  the  natural  sun,  when- 


96 


DIVINE  UNION. 


ever  the  appropriate  occasion  is  furnished,  shines  by 
spontaneous  ditfusion.  Love,  therefore,  is  not  a thing 
which  rests  upon  something  else,  and  which  can  be  ana- 
lyzed into  antecedent  elements;  but  is  rather  a life,  a 
permanence,  something  essential,  something  which  exists 
by  itself,  and  does  not  rest  on  any  other  basis.  And 
thus,  being  a life  or  nature,  it  acts  itself  ou  t as  a nature^ 
without  thinking  or  asking  why  it  does  it ; — just  as  a 
man  breathes,  or  thinks,  or  remembers,  or  imagines, 
without  reflecting  or  asking  why  he  does  it. 

4.  We  have  already  said  that  love  necessarily  has  its 
object.  The  object  of  pure  love  (and  we  regard  this  as 
an  important  remark)  is  existence;  all  percipient  and 
sentient  existence  whatever.  So  that  love,  in  distinction 
from  every  appearance  and  modification  of  affection 
which  is  not  true  or  pure  love,  may  be  defined  to  be  a 
desire  for  the  good  or  happiness  of  everything  which  exists. 
And,  in  accordance  with  this  view,  everything  which 
has  a being,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  whatever  its 
position,  whatever  its  character,  the  whole  infinity  of 
percipient  and  sentient  existence,  simply  because  it  has 
such  an  existence,  is  the  appropriate  object  of  pure  love. 

This  is  a great  truth,  and  one  which,  it  must  be 
admitted,  is  difiicult  to  be  realized  by  those  who  have 
not  an  instinct  of  perception  and  of  affirmation  in  their 
own  purified  hearts.  Those  who  are  the  subjects  of  this 
exalted  feeling  sincerely  desire  the  happiness  of  all 
those,  whoever  or  whatever  they  may  be,  who  are  capa- 
ble of  enjoying  happiness,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it 
may  be  so,  that  they  disapprove  and  perhaps  even  hate 
their  character ; and,  accordingly,  they  love  the  evil  as 
well  as  the  good,  sinners  as  well  as  saints. 

Another  characteristic  of  holy  love  is,  that  it  is  attract- 
ive;  that  is  to  say,  its  beauty  is  so  divine,  that,  by  its 


UNION  IN  LOVK. 


9t 


own  nature,  it  arrests  the  attention,  and  draws  all  things 
to  itself  that  are  capable  of  perceiving  its  beauty.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  it  to  use  efforts  to  produce  this  effect. 
This  remarkable  power  is  an  essential  power;  some- 
thing inherent  in  it.  It  has  it,  because  it  cannot  be 
without  it.  Even  natural  beauty  has  something  of  this 
power.  The  flower  that  blooms  by  the  wayside,  the 
star  that  shines  in  the  evening  sky,  attracts  the  eye  of 
the  beholder,  and  commands  his  attention.  The  power 
exists,  though  it  may  be  difficult  to  explain  it.  And,  if 
this  power  is  possessed  by  natural  beauty,  still  more  is 
it  possessed  by  moral  beauty.  He,  therefore,  who  pos- 
sesses the  highest  of  moral  elements,  that  of  pure  love, 
operating  by  that  attractive  power  which  is  eternal  as 
the  love  from  which  it  springs,  must  and  will  be  loved 
in  return,  whether  he  be  God,  angel,  or  man.  All  that 
is  necessary  is,  that  this  moral  beauty  be  clearly  per- 
ceived, which,  however,  is  never  done,  and  is  not  pos- 
sible 10  be  done,  when  the  mind  is  darkened  by  sin. 

We  have  a striking  illustration  of  the  nature  of  pure 
% love  in  the  case  of  the  Saviour.  He  loved  sinners.  “ He 
came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repent- 
ance.’’ It  was  not  for  angels,  but  for  erring  men,  that 
he  died.  He  bowed  his  head  upon  the  cross  for  those 
that  persecuted  him,  reviled  him,  slew  him.  He  loved 
men,  not  because  they  were  good,  for  such  they  were 
not,  and  certainly  not  because  they  were  evil,  because 
.evil  can  never  be  the  foundation  of  love,  but  because 
they  were  existences,  — percipient  and  moral  existences. 
He  saw  them  created  with  the  elements  of  an  eternal 
being,  but  destitute,  in  their  fallen  state,  of  those  attri- 
butes which  would  make  that  being  a happy  one.  He 
saw  them  destitute  of  truth  which  they  might  possess, 
of  holiness  to  which  they  were  strangers,  the  enemies 
9 


98 


DIVINE  UNION. 


of  God  when  they  might  be  his  friends,  the  heirs  of  hell 
when  they  might  be  the  heirs  of  heaven.  He  loved 
them,  therefore,  not  because  they  were  good,  but  because 
they  had  a sentient,  and  especially  because  they  had  a 
moral,  existence.  It  was  their  existence  and  not  their 
merit ; it  was  what  they  were  capable  of  being,  and  not 
what  they  were,  which  brought  him  down  from  heaven. 


CHAPTER  II. 


ON  THE  SCRIPTURE  DECLARATION  THAT  GOD  IS  LOVE.^’ 

Of  the  infinity  of  God.  — Something  more  needed.  — God  love  by 
essence.  — The  subject  argued  from  the  relatioift  he  sustains. — 
Argued  also  from  the  rectitude  or  right  of  things.  — Argument  from 
the  happiness  of  God.  — Other  views. 

Having  made,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  some  genera] 
statements  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  love,  we  now  pro- 
ceed to  consider  it  as  existing  in  God.  We  must  under- 
stand the  relations  of  this  principle  to  God,  — in  other 
words,  we  must  understand  what  God^s  love  is,  before 
we  can  understand  the  union  of  God  and  man  in  love. 
And  in  doing  this  our  attention  is  first  arrested  by  the 
’^declaration  of  the  Scriptures,  — a declaration  which  is 
worthy  of  the  particular  notice  of  Christians,  — that 
God  is  love.’’  It  Avould  be  difficult  to  find  a parallel 
form  of  expression.  It  is  not  anywhere  said  of  God,  so 
far  as  we  recollect,  that  he  is  omniscience,  or  that  he  is 
omnipresence.  It  is  true  that  the  attributes  of  omnisci- 
ence and  omnipresence  are  essential  to  him  as  an  infinite 
existence ; but  it  should  always  be  remembered  that  God 
is  something  more  than  infinity.  There  must  be  some- 
thing beyond  and  above  infinity,  which  shall  baptize  it 
with  the  character  of  goodness;  otherwise  there  is  no 
God.  God  is  LOVE.” 

2.  God  is  love  by  essence.  That  is  to  ^ay,  love  is 
forever  and  unchangeably  essential  to  his  existence  as 


IOC 


DIVINE  UNION. 


God.  He  was  not  at  first,  as  some  may  be  led  to  sup- 
pose, a mere  percipient  being,  having  all  knowledge, 
who  formed  conjecturally  an  idea  of  love,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  a good  and  desirable  thing,  and 
then  added  it  as  an  accessory  to  his  original  existence. 
On  the  contrary,  God  always  had  a heart ; always  had 
a true  and  effective  sensibility,  operating,  by  an  eternal 
law  of  action,  in  the  line  of  right  and  goodness.  And  if, 
by  universal  consent,  the  heart  takes  the  precedence  of 
the  head,  — if  no  greatness  of  intellect  can  elevate  and 
save  a man  wlio  has  evil  and  depraved  affections,  — then 
God  cannot  be  what  he  is,  the  infinitely  desirable  and 
infinitely  good,  without  love  as  the  central  and  leading 
element,  the  basis  and  the  completion  of  his  character. 

3.  The  mere  statement  carries  conviction  in  itself. 
But  this  is  not  all.  We  argue  the  matter  also  from  the 
relations  of  things.  God,  considered  as  the  Infinite,  or 
I AM,  sustains  a fixed  and  necessary  relation  to  every- 
thing which  is.  His  relation  to  space  is  realized  and 
fulfilled  in  his  omnipresence.  His  relation  to  duration 
finds  its  expression  and  fulfilment  in  his  eternity.  His 
relation,  as  an  infinite  and  perfect  being,  to  objects  of 
knowledge,  is  realized  and  fulfilled  in  his  omniscience. 
His  relation  to  percipient  and  sentient  beings,  to  all 
beings  that  are  susceptible  of  happiness,  is  corresponded 
to  and  completed  by  his  love  ; or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
by  his  desire  of  their  happiness.  So  that  it  may  be  said, 
that  he  is  present  to  and  envelopes  time  by  his  eternity, 
space  by  his  omnipresence,  all  things  knowable  by  his 
omniscience,  and  all  percipient  and  sentient  existences 
by  his  LOVE.  And  as  there  can  be  no  God  without 
eternity,  no  God  without  omniscience  and  omnipresence, 
so,  still  more  truly  aad  emphatically,  there  can  be  no 
God  without  love.  Tatce  away  love,  and  then,  in  dis- 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


101 


tinction  from  the  infinity  of  his  natural  existence, 
nothing  which  constitutes  God,  remains ; nothing  to  give 
birth  to  happy  existences,  nothing  to  protect  them  and  to 
secure  their  happiness,  nothing  to  give  them  confidence, 
nothing  lovely,  and  nothing  to  be  loved.  Take  away 
love  from  the  divine  nature,  and  what  would  remain 
would  be  either  an  infinite  indifferent  being,  or  an  infi- 
nite Satan. 

4.  And,  again,  we  argue  that  God  is  love,’’  because^ 
without  love  as  the  permanent  and  controlling  element 
of  his  nature,  the  rectitude  or  right  of  things  could  not 
be  sustained. 

There  is,  and  must  be,  in  the  divine  nature,  every- 
thing that  is  expressed  in  the  word  ought ; everything 
which  corresponds  to  the  claims  of  right  and  obligation ; 
everything  which  ought  to  be.  That  we  ought  to  love 
existence,  simply  because  it  is  existence ; that  we  ought 
to  desire,  and  seek,  and  love  the  happiness  of  all  who 
exist,  simply  because  they  do  exist  and  are  susceptible 
of  happiness,  is  an  affirmation  founded  on  the  spontane- 
ous intimations  of  the  moral  sense,  and  which,  therefore, 
is  antecedent  to  and  above  reasoning.  It  is  none  the  less 
a truth  because  it  is  suggested  rather  than  deduced ; 
because  it  is  given  by  its  own  impulse  of  revelation, 
rather  than  extracted  by  the  researches  of  a power  dis- 
tinct from  and  out  of  itself.  The  right  or  obligation  of 
things  is  a law  which  exists  by  itself,  which  discloses  its 
own  exigencies  and  proclaims  its  own  veracity ; asking 
no  counsel  or  support  from  that  which  is  imperfect  or 
created ; never  going  back  of  or  above  itself  for  another 
and  higher  motive  of  action  ; but  standing  alone,  immu- 
table, universal,  and  eternal.  On  this  ground,  therefore^^ 
we  affirm  that  God  is  love,  namely,  because  he  ought  to 
be.  The  voice  of  our  moral  nature,  which  is  the  voice  of 
9^ 


102 


DIVINE  UNION. 


God  himself,  proclaims  that  it  cannot  be  otherwise.  He 
loves,  he  must  love,  he  cannot  help  loving  everything 
which  exists. 

5.  Again,  God  is  love,  (the  attribute  of  love  constitut- 

ing the  essential  and  controlling  part  of  his  nature,) 
because,  without  love,  he  cannot  be  a happy  being. 
Whatever  may  be  regarded  as  the  true  elements  of  hap- 
piness, it  is  certain  that  permanency  is  essential  to  it. 
And  it  is  a great  truth,  verified  by  universal  experience 
as  well  as  by  enlightened  reason,  that  there  cannot  be 
permanent  happiness,  if  indeed  there  can  be  happiness  at 
all,  separate  from  love.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  indifierence  is  not  happiness.  It  may  not  be  misery, 
but  it  certainly  cannot  be  happiness.  Hatred,  which 
is  the  opposite  of  love,  and  which  of  course  must 
exist,  if  there  is  neither  love  nor  indifference,  is  not  hap- 
piness. On  the  contrary,  there  are  always  painful  feel- 
ings involved  in  and  attending  it.  God,  therefore,  if 
eternity  is  essential  to  his  character,  and  if  love  is  the 
foundation  of  happiness,  is  either  eternal  love,  or  must 
be  described  in  terms  which  are  abhorrent  in  the  very 
utterance,  as  eternal  misery.  But  a view  of  God,  which 
characterizes  him  as  miserable,  is  inadmissible.  Love, 
then,  taking  it  for  granted  that  he  is  and  ever  will  be  a 
happy  being,  is  an  essential  part  of  his  everlasting 
nature.  • 

6.  Again ; love,  by  which  we  mean  pure  or  holy 
love,  cannot  by  any  possibility  exist  in  any  but  an  Infi- 
nite Being,  or  in  those  beings  who  rest  on  the  Infinite. 
Plants  and  flowers  might  as  well  grow  upon  rocks 
where  there  is  no  earth,  as  pure  love  grow  out  of  the 
finite; — we  mean  the  finite,  standing  alone  and  sustained 
by  its  own  strength.  Such  is  the  nature  of  this  love, 
transcending  as  it  does  all  limited  interests,  that  it  claims 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


103 


a natural  and  necessary  affinity  with  the  unlimited.  All 
other  love  is  bounded.  Pure  love  knows  no  bounds.  It 
does  not  ask  whether  the  object  of  its  regard  is  good  or 
evil,  a friend  or  an  enemy.  It  transcends  the  restric- 
tions, which  are  multiplied  and  piled  up  one  upon 
another,  of  human  passion  and  interest,  and  gives  its 
affections  without  reward.  Strong  in  its  own  divinity, 
it  casts  out  fear,^'^  Fear,  which  has  no  place  in  the 
infinite,  is  the  necessary  law  of  inferiority,  except  where 
the  weak  are  united  with  the  strong.  All  beings  that 
are  not  God  and  are  not  united  with  God,  in  neither 
being  the  source  of  things  nor  being  united  with  that 
great  and  benevolent  source,  are  condemned  to  selfish- 
ness by  their  position,  and  are  condemned  to  weakness 
and  sorrow,  to  fear  and  shame,  by  their  selfishness. 
Having  nothing  else  to  rest  upon,  their  thoughts^  and 
their  love  turn  to  themselves.  Pure  love,  which  rejects 
all  such  restrictions,  they  have  not  and  cannot  have. 
But  God’s  love,  growing  out  of  and  constituting,  or  at 
least  perfecting,  a nature  which  is  infinite,  and  which  in 
being  infinite  knows  no  partial  interests  and  has  no  fear, 
reaches  all,  encircles  all,  blesses  all. 

7.  The  declaration  of  the  apostle,  that  God  is  love,  is 
not  a mere  figure  of  speech.  It  does  not  merely  mean, 
that  he  can  love,  or  that  he  does  love  in  some  degree. 
The  expression  is  emphatic,  full  of  meaning.  Its  import 
has  already  been  explained.  And  we  add  here,  it  cannot 
be  too  often  repeated,  in  relation  to  God,  that  love  stands 
as  the  centre  of  his  being.  Far  more  than  anything  else, 
it  is  the  essential  element  of  his  life  as  God. 

It  is  true,  it  is  preceded  in  the  order  of  nature  hj  Jaith. 
This  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  notice.  In  the 
natural  order,  faith  is  the  antecedent  of  love ; and  is  also 
its  necessary  condition.  But  while  it  can  be  truly  said 


104 


.DIVINE  UNION. 


that  both  faith  and  love  have  their  appropriate  place,  and 
that  both  are  essential;  it  is  also  true  that  love,  con- 
sidered as  an  element  of  the  divine  nature,  stands  nearer 
the  centre  of  existence,  and  contains  in  itself  the  motive 
or  active  principle  of  being.  All  other  things  are  subor- 
dinate to  it.  Infinite  space  and  infinite  time  are  its 
locality  ; infinite  knowledge  is  its  minister  and  hand- 
maid ; the  conscience  is  its  guard,  pronouncing  within 
and  without  its  moral  value ; the  will  executes  its 
decrees ; but  the  moving  principle,  the  essence,  the  life 
of  the  infinite  as  Ood^  that  which  gives  inspiration  to 
knowledge,  motion  to  power,  and  impulse  to  the  will,  is, 
and  must  be,  love. 


CHAPTER  III. 


ON  THE  LOVE  OF  EXISTENCE  IN  DISTINCTION  FROM  THE  LOVE 
OF  CHARACTER. 

Illustrations  of  the  love  of  existence.  — The  mother  and  her  sons.  — 
The  wife  and  her  husband.  — Other  illustrations.  — Deductions  from 
. these  views.  — On  the  love  of  our  enemies.  — Without  this  love  we 
cannot  be  the  sons  of  God. 

Pure  love,  as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  remark, 
is  the  love  of  existence  or  being,  independently  of  charac- 
ter. Undoubtedly  such  love  is  remote  from  the  common 
apprehension  and  experience  ; so  much  so  mat  its  nature 
is  difficult  to  be  understood  and  appreciated  by  most  per- 
sons. Some  further  illustrations,  therefore, — illustrations 
drawn  from  the  situations  and  acts  of  those  around  us, 
— will  aid  us  in  a just  view  of  the  subject. 

2.  There  lives  in  yonder  dwelling  a humble  and 
praying  mother,  who  has  two  sons;  one  of  whom  is 
eminent  for  his  virtues,  the  other  is  equally  distinguished 
for  his  vices.  The  virtuous  son  she  not  only  loves  with 
the  love  of  benevolence,  which  is  the  same  as  the  love  of 
existence  or  being,  but  with  the  love  of  complacency. 
In  other  words,  she  not  only  loves  him,  but  delights  in 
him.  His  character,  as  well  as  his  existence,  commands 
her  affections,  and  brings  a rich  reward. 

But  the  other  son  is  the  son  of  her  sorrow.  He  is 
deformed  in  person,  ferocious  in  mind,  addicted  to  unholy 
indulgences,  and  to  all  human  appearance  evil  and  only 


106 


DIVINE  UNION. 


evil.  But,  notwithstanding  these  unfavorable  circum- 
stances, the  love  of  her  child,  separating  as  it  does  his 
existence  from  his  character,  never  ceases  to  act, — never 
falters  and  becomes  weary.  She  loves,  by  an  element  or 
law  of  her  nature,  just  as  God  does ; and  can  cease  to 
love  only  when  she  ceases  to  live.  She  clothes  him  and 
feeds  him,  for  which  she  receives  no  thanks;  she 
bathes  his  throbbing  brow,  feverish  with  criminal  intem- 
perance ; she  returns  kindness  for  unkindness,  care  for 
forgetfulness;  never  ceasing,  under  any  circumstances, 
to  watch,  to  pray,  and  to  labor. 

Deeply  atfected  by  what  is  thus  presented  to  their 
notice,  men  concede  at  once  and  universally  the  amia- 
bleness and  the  attractive  character  of  this  high  love; — 
a love  above  philosophy  and  mere  human  reason,  and 
partaking  of  the  nature  of  God. 

3.  Take  the  case  of  the  wife.  Her  husband  has 
become  profane,  intemperate,  vicious.  His  kindness  is 
changed  to  suspicion  and  hatred.  He  is  the  wreck  of 
what  he  was  once ; and  yet  her  love,  kindled  by  the 
knowledge  of  what  he  has  been,  and  of  what  he  may  yet 
be,  remains  unchanged.  If  his  character  is  gone,  his 
existence  remains.  If  virtue  has  departed,  immortality 
never  dies.  She  sees  his  former  life  in  ruins,  but  still  it  is 
a living  ruin  and  capable  of  reanimation.  And  while 
there  is  hope,  however  feeble,  she  will  not  cease  to  call 
upon  him  to  return. 

It  is  needless  to  say,  how  much  we  respect  and 
honor  an  affection  so  exalte  i,  and  how  constantly  and 
strongly  it  impresses  us  with  a sense  of  its  divine  origin. 
We  can  see  a reason  why  she  should  love  that  which  is 
Icvely ; — but  to  love  that  which  is  unlovely;  to  separate 
between  existence  and  character,  and  to  attach  our  affec- 
tions to  the  mere  reality  of  being,  simply  because  it  is 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


107 


being;  and.  whatever  may  be  its  relations  of  harmony  or 
of  opposition  to  us  or  to  others,  to  seek,  to  pray,  and  to 
labor  for  its  redemption  to  purity  and  to  happiness, 
simply  because  it  is  susceptible  of  such  redemption,  and 
without  thought  of  personal  reward ; — this  is  a love,  of 
which  reason,  in  being  unable  to  explain  it,  can  only  say, 
it  is  of  God, 

4.  Take  the  case  of  those  individuals  who  have 
visited,  aided,  and  blessed  the  enslaved  and  the  prisoner, 
— the  Clarksons  and  Howards  of  their  generation;  — 
men  who  have  travelled  and  labored,  in  the  language  of 
Mr.  Burke,  when  speaking  of  Howard,  not  to  survey  the 
sumptuousness  of  palaces,  or  the  stateliness  of  temples ; 
not  to  make  accurate  measurements  of  the  remains  of 
ancient  grandeur,  nor  to  form  a scale  of  the  curiosity  of 
modern  art ; nor  to  collect  medals  or  collate  manuscripts ; 
— but  to  dive  into  the  depths  of  dungeons ; to  plunge 
into  the  infection  of  hospitals ; to  survey  the  mansions  of 
sorrow  and  pain ; to  take  the  gauge  and  the  dimensions 
of  misery,  depression,  and  contempt;  to  remember  the 
forgotten,  to  attend  to  the  neglected,  to  visit  the  forsaken, 
to  compare  and  collate  the  distresses  of  all  men  in  all 
countries.” 

5.  It  is  such  cases,  unexplainable  on  mere  prudential 
considerations,  which  give  us  a glimpse  of  the  exalted 
and  divine  nature  of  that  love  which  flows  out  to  exist- 
ence. He,  who  has  such  love,  has  God, — God  is  in  him  ’ 
because  such  love  cannot  live  unless  it  strikes  its  roo* 
and  has  its  source  of  life  in  the  Infinite.  As  it  casts  out 
alike  all  selfish  interests  and  all  fears,  nothing  but  divine 
power  in  the  soul  could  support  it. 

With  such  views  of  pure  or  holy  love,  it  only  remains 
to  be  added  here,  that  it  is  right  and  reasonable  that  we 
should  be  required  to  love  our  enemies.  There  are  no 


108 


DIVINE  UNION* 


passages  of  Scripture  which  have  perplexed  the  unbe- 
lieving world  more  than  those  which  have  relation  to 
this  subject.  “ But  I say  unto  you;’’  says  the  Saviour, 
“love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good 
to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despite- 
fully  use  you  and  persecute  you.” 

6.  It  will  be  noticed,  that  we  are  not  commanded  to 
love  their  enmity^  — to  love  their  detractions  and  ill 
usage,  — but  to  love  that  which  has  enmity ; the  subject 
rather  than  the  attribute ; namely,  their  existence,  their 
immortal  natures.  In  the  exercise  of  holy  love,  we  may 
not  only  forgive  them,  but  may  earnestly  seek  their  hap- 
piness ; while,  at  the  same  time,  we  condemn  their 
characters.  Their  characters  may  change,  but  not  the 
essence  of  their  being.  Their  enmity  may  die,  but  their 
nature  is  eternal. 

7.  We  repeat,  however,  that  this  love  cannot  be  ex- 

ercised in  its  full  extent,  unless  the  soul  has  first  passed 
into  divine  unity  and  become  a partaker  of  the  divine 
nature.  It  was  this  love,  resting  upon  the  principle  of 
faith,  which  constituted  Christ  the  true  Son  of  God. 
And  it  is  this  love,  resting  upon  the  same  principle  of 
faith,  which  constitutes  the  sons  of  God  in  all  times  and 
all  places.  “Love  your  enemies,”  says  the  Saviour. 
And  what  is  the  reason  which  he  assigns  ? “ That  ye 

may  he  the  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven^ 
for  he  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust. 
For  if  ye  love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have 
ye  ? Do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ? And  if  ye 
salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  ye  more  than  others? 
Do  not  even  the  publicans  so  ? Be  ye^  therefore^  perfect^ 
even  as  your  Father^  which  is  in  heaven^  is  perfect, 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THOUGHTS  ON  THE  CREATION  OF  HOLY  EXISTENCES. 

fill  holy  beings  formed  in  the  divine  image.  — The  divine  image  in 
man  constituted  chiefly  by  holy  love.  — Such'  love  necessarily  the 
gift  of  God.  — On  loving  God  with  the  whole  heart.  — Remarks. 

What  has  been  said  is  perhaps  all  that  is  necessary  to 
be  said  in  relation  to  the  nature  of  love,  and  the  exist- 
ence of  love  as  a central  element  of  the  Divine  Mind. 
Man  must  be  born  again  into  the  possession  of  this  love, 
and  thus  be  restored  to,  and  reassociated  with,  the  divine 
element.  And  we  shall  the  better  understand  the  neces- 
sity of  this  regeneration  and  reunion,  by  considering 
still  further  what  man  was  in. the  beginning.  And  our 
first  remark  is  this. 

All  holy  beings,  inasmuch  as  they  come  from  God, 
are,  and  must  be,  formed  originally  in  the  divine  image. 
It  is  thus  that  angels  and  all  angelic  and  seraphic  natures 
are  formed.  They  are  miniatures  of  God.  It  is  thus 
that  man  himself  was  originally  formed.  And  God 
said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness. So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  hi  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him.^^ 

2.  The  likeness  of  God  to  man  is  not  in  form^  for  God 
is  without  form; — not  in  intellect,  for  the  intellect  of 
God  embraces  all  things,  while  man  can  know  only  a 
part;— but  in  that  which  constitutes,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  the  element,  the  life,  of  the  divine  nature, 
10 


no 


DIVINE  UNION. 


namely,  holy  love.  Man,  in  the  infancy  of  his  exists 
ence,  was  created  a love  being.  Love,  as  the  centre  of 
his  existence,  was  not  a speculation,  but  a nature;  not 
an  accessory  of  life,  but  the  life  itself.  Spontaneous  in 
its  action,  acting  because  it  had  a principle  of  movement 
in  itself,  it  did  not  wait  for  the  slow  deductions  of 
reason,  but  flowed  out  in  alj  directions,  like  a living 
stream.  As  man,  thus  formed  in  the  love  spirit,  looked 
around  upon  the  works  of  nature,  he  saw  all  things  in 
the  possession  of  life  and  beauty,  and  he  rejoiced  in  all 
things,  because  all  things  had  God  in  them.  He  loveft 
the  tree  and  the  flower,  which  reflected  the  divine  wis- 
dom and  goodness.  But  far  more  did  he  delight  in  the 
happiness  of  everything  which  had  a sentient  existence. 
He  called  all  animals  to  him.  The  birds  dropped  their 
wings  at  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  came.  The  beasts 
of  the  fleld  and  of  the  forests  flocked  around  him  from 
their  near  or  distant  habitations.  He  loved  them  : and 
he  gave  them  their  names.  When  the  occasion  was 
presented,  when  the  sentient  object,  no  matter  to  what 
scale  or  degree  of  sentient  being  it  belonged,  was  before 
him,  his  simple  and  pure  heart  flowed  out  at  once. 

3.  It  was  thus,  beyond  all  question,  that  the  prim- 
itive man  was  constituted.  Such  is  the  representation 
of  Scripture.  Love,  resting  upon  faith,  was  his  nature. 
And,  coming  from  God,  he  could  not  have  been  consti- 
tuted otherwise.  God  being  what  he  is,  he  could  not 
have  created  man  otherwise  than  he  did.  The  princi- 
ples of  right,  which  apply  to  the  fact  of  creation  as  well 
as  to  the  government  of  things  created,  are  not  suscep- 
tible of  change.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  conceive 
of  more  than  one  pattern  or  model,  according  to  which 
holy  beings  were  at  first  created.  And  this  one  pattern, 
which,  in  being  the  true  pattern,  condemns  and  excludes 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


Ill 


all  others,  is  that  of  the  Divine  Mind  itself.  The  model, 
in  being  perfect,  can  never  be  altered ; in  being  eternal, 
can  never  be  broken. 

Holy  beings  are  create  after  the  divine  model ; but  it 
is  worthy  of  notice,  here  as  elsewhere,  that  the  existence, 
which  stands  for  the  model,  is  itself  the  creating  power. 
— God  is  their  Father.  Man,  in  not  being  able  to  make 
himself,  is  not  able  to  make  that  holy  love,  which  is  the 
centre  of  himself.  On  the  contrary,  holy  love  is  a gift^ 
as  divine  in  its  source  as  it  is  divine  in  its  nature.  It  is 
just  as  impossible  for  men  to  originate,  by  their  own 
action,  the  principle  of  pure  or  holy  love  within  them, 
as  it  is  to  originate  their  own  existence,  or  the  power  of 
perception  and  memory.  Pure  love  cannot  be  created 
on  the  basis  of  prudential  calculations;  nor  can  it  be 
originated  by  any  other  human  device.  Device,  calcu- 
lation, cannot  raise  itself  to  that  divine  height.  And 
the  reason  is,  it  is  a constituent^  something  inherent  and 
organic,  something  without  which  reason  itself,  in  its 
pure  and  unbiased  forms,  could  not  have  been  brought 
into  action ; something  which  does  not  and  cannot  by 
any  possibility  exist,  except  as  a nature.  In  God  it  is 
nature  eternal;  in  all  other  holy  beings  it  is  nature 
given, 

4.  Original  truth  is  aphoristic.  Its  declaration  is  its 
ar^ment.  It  carries  conviction  in  its  simplest  affirma- 
tions. It  is  enough,  therefore,  merely  to  affirm,  that  the 
created  must  flow  out  of  the  uncreated;  that  the  tem- 
poral must  flow  out  of  the  eternal.  God  is  the  uncre- 
ated; God  is  the  eternal.  God,  therefore,  God  alone, 
God  beyond  time,  beyond  and  above  all  creating  power, 
is  the  “ living  ” or  perpetual  fountain.  He  has  the  true 
life  in  himself,  and  that  life  is  Love.  — All  other  life  is 
from  him  and  by  him. 


112 


DIVINE  UNION. 


5.  Hence  it  is  said,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,— Ian* 
guage  not  more  simply  eloquent  and  affecting  than  it  is 
true : — people  have  committed  two  evils;  they  have 
forsaken  me,  the  fountain  of  Ivmng  waters^  and  hewn  out 
broken  cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water.’’ And  it  is 
here,  more  than  anywhere  else,  that  we  find  the  source 
Ov  trouble  with  men.  God,  in  creating  men,  not  only 
gave  them  the  principle  of  faith,  but  opened  also  the 
eternal  fountain  of  love  in  their  hearts ; but  men,  in  an  evil 
hour,  stopped  it  by  ceasing  to  believe  in  the  source  from 
which  it  came.  Satan,  reminding  them  that  God  had 
made  them  moral  agents,  maliciously  whispered  that 
they  would  do  well  to  avail  themselves  of  their  power 
hj  hewing  out  cisterns  of  their  own^  — in  other  words, 
that  they  should  try  to  live  as  originators,  and  not  as 
recipients  ; that  they  should  try  to  live  without  living  in 
and  from  God.  They  made  the  attempt ; turned  away 
from  God,  and,  in  striving  to  live  in  their  own  strength, 
found,  in  their  sins  and  sorrows,  that  they  had  ex- 
changed the  living  fountain  for  “broken  cisterns,  which 
could  hold  no  water.” 

6.  The  doctrine  of  man’s  creation  in  the  image  of  God 
involves,  as  one  of  its  consequences,  that,  in  his  true 
and  normal  state,  he  loves  and  must  love  God  with  all 
his  heart.  And  the  reason  is  this.  The  law  of  love’s 
movement,  all  other  things  being  equal,  is  the  amount 
of  being,  or  existence  in  the  object  beloved.  Accordingly, 
it  can  be  said  of  love,  that  it  notices  and  rejoices  in  every- 
thing which  exists.  It  loves  each  insect  that  floats  in  the 
summer’s  sun ; it  delights  in  the  happiness  of  the  birds 
that  sing  in  the  branches ; it  wipes  the  tears  and  binds 
up  the  wounds  of  man,  however,  degraded  and  fallen; 
but  it  is  God^  the  infinite  Beings  who  represents  in  him- 


* Jer.  2 : 13. 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


113 


self  all  other  existences,  that  supremely  attracts  and 
absorbs  it.  In  him  all  love  centres,  as  all  streams  and 
waters  centre  in  the  parent  ocean.  In  God,  uniting  and 
consolidating  all  things  in  himself,  we  love  the  infin- 
itude of  being,  the  Life  of  the  universe,  the  everywhere 
present,  the  silent  but  universal  Operator,  the  All-in-all. 

10=^ 


\ 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON  THE  THKEE  FORMS  OF  LOVE  : NAMELY,  OF  BENEVOLENCE, 
OF  COMPLACENCY,  AND  OF  UNION, 

Explanations  of  the  love  of  benevolence.  — Benevolential  love  net 
necessarily  unitive.  — Illustrations.  — Complacential  love.  — Illus- 
trations — Unitive  love.  — Results  of  unitive  love. 

The  love  of  existence,  simply  because  it  is  existence 
and.  in  being  existence,  is  susceptible  of  happiness,  is  the 
basis  of  all  other  love.  This  love  ^ sometimes  denomi- 
nated in  writers,  in  consideration  of  its  nature  rather 
than  its  object,  the  love  of  benevolence,  or  benevolential 
love.  Eternal  in  the  divine  mind,  operating  by  its  own 
nature,  being  in  itself  and  of  itself  a living  principle,  it  is 
properly  called  a life.  And  it  is  this  immortal  life,  this 
central  and  eternal  impulse  of  the  divinity,  which 
elevates  and  expands  the  Godhead  from  a mere  infinity 
of  power  and  wisdom  to  an  infinity  of  moral  perfection. 
Of  the  value  of  this  love,  and  its  indispensable  nature  to 
God  and  to  all  beings  created  in  the  likeness  of  God,  it  is 
difficult  to  form  too  high  an  estimate.  First  in  time,  it  is 
preeminent  in  importance.  We  say  everything  which 
can  well  be  said,  when  we  speak  of  it  as  their  life. 

2.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  however,  that  this  love, 
which  is  sometimes  known  under  the  denomination  of 
love  of  benevolence  or  benevolential  love,  in  distinction 
from  the  love  of  complacency  or  complacential  love,  is 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


115 


not  unitive.  That  is  to  say^  it  does  not,  and  cannot  of 
itself,  const,  into  an  union  between  him  who  loves  and  the 
object  that  is  beloved.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say, 
that  there  can  be  no  union  unless  there  are  two  or  more 
beings  to  be  united.  And  it  is  hardly  less  obvious,  that 
no  union  can  be  effected  without  a correspondence  of 
feeling  in  those  who  are  the  subjects  of  such  union. 
Love  and  union,  therefore,  are  not  identical,  and  are  not, 
in  all  cases,  necessarily  related.  The  history  of  the 
Saviour,  who  suffered  death  in  attempting  to  do  good  to 
men,  has  shown  us  that  we  may  love  where  there  is 
only  distrust  or  hatred  in  return.  Often  is  this  the  case. 
Year  after  year,  man  may  entertain  the  kindest  and 
most  benevolent  feelings  towards  others ; he  may  labor 
for  them  and  suffer  for  them  ; and  instead  of  the  delight- 
ful approach  and  unity  of  love,  find  nothing  but  feelings 
of  ingratitude  and  deep  aversion. 

3.  Complacential  love,  based  upon  that  of  benevo- 
lence, or  the  love  of  simple  existence,  adds  to  the  love  of 
the  object  an  approbation  of  its  character.  This  last 
circumstance  constitutes,  it  is  obvious,  an  important 
modification  of  the  affection  under  consideration.  We 
desire,  for  instance,  the  good  and  happiness  of  the  just 
man.  That  is  to  say,  we  love  him.  And  we  do  so, 
both  because  he  is  a man,  and  also  because  he  is  just. 
The  love  of  him  as  a just  man,  which  turns  upon^  the 
fact  of  his  character,  is  added  to  and  increases  our  love 
of  him  as  a man,  which  turns  upon  the  fact  of  his  being, 
or  existence.  Again,  we  desire  the  good  and  happiness 
of  angels,  on  the  ground  of  their  existence  and  suscepti- 
bility of  happiness,  just  as  we  desire  the  happiness  of  the 
worst  sinners  for  the  same  reason.  In  other  words,  we 
love  them  with  the  love  of  benevolence.  But  the  purity 
of  an  angefs  character  furnishes  a new  element,  or 


116 


DIVINE  UNION. 


rather  basis  of  love; — so  that  we  heighten  the  love  of 
their  existence,  which  is  the  foundation,  by  that  of  their 
moral  excellence,  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  acces- 
sory, but  beautiful  superstructure.  In  the  case  of 
argels,  as  in  the  case  of  the  just  man,  we  love  both  ex-/ 
istmce  and  character.  In  the  case  of  those  sinners  in 
whom  we  discover  no  good  moral  elements,  we  love  their 
existence,  notwithstanding  their  character,  and  in  oppo- 
sition to  its  repelling  influence.  And  in  both  cases,  if 
our  love  exists  without  regard  to  personal  reward,  it  is 
properly  denominated  jpwre  love, 

4.  Unitive  love,  in  implying  the  fact  of  something 
united,  cannot  exist  without  two  or  more  persons,  or 
beings,  who  are  the  subjects  of  it.  Such  love,  especially 
when  it  results  in  the  highest  degree  of  union,  implies 
and  involves  the  existence  of  complacential  love,  added 
to  that  of  benevolence.  The  parties  who  are  the  subjects 
of  unitive  love,  must  approve  and  honor,  as  well  as  love, 
each  other,  before  they  can  enter  into  such  union.  Their 
approbation  must  be  mutual ; and  mutual  approbation 
can  hardly  be  expected  to  exist  without  a similarity  of 
character.  A likeness  of  character  is  not  essential  to  all 
love,  but  it  obviously  is  to  that  proximity  and  oneness 
of  heart  which  constitutes  the  modification  of  unitive 
love.  And  the  degree  of  mutual  likeness  of  character 
will  be  the  measure  of  the  degree  of  union  or  oneness. 
If  the  union  is  perfect,  the  character  in  both  cases  must 
have  a moral  or  religious  perfection; — that  is  to  say, 
the  character  in  both  cases  must  be  that  of  pure  or  holy 
ove.  Love  and  selfishness  cannot  mingle  together. 
Whenever  two  or  more  existences,  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  pure  love,  approach  each  other,  so  as  to  come  within 
the  sphere  of  each  other’s  knowledge,  and  thus  form  a 
mur.ual  acquaintance,  they  not  only  have  feelings  of 


JNION  IN  LOVE. 


117 


complacency  and  approval,  but  at  once  form  the  most 
intimate  association.  It  is  not  so  much  a matter  of 
volition  as  a law  of  nature.  They  cannot  stay  apart  if 
they  would.  By  their  nature  they  are  reciprocally 
attractive.  They  are  born  into  the  same  image ; and  in 
the  innate  consciousness  of  the  loveliness  of  their  indi- 
vidual characters,  they  cannot  help  loving  that  which 
bears  the  image  and  reflects  the  resemblance  of  them- 
selves. Children  of  the  same  lineage,  and  baptized  in 
the  same  pure  waters,  they  rush  into  each  other’s  em- 
brace, as  a mother,  recognizing  her  own  lineaments  in  a 
child  long  lost,  but  at  last  restored  again,  rushes  into  its 
arms,  not  by  the  movement  of  mere  reason,  but  by  the 
spontaneity  of  a true  and  permanent  life. 

5.  These  views  apply  to  the  relations  between  God 
and  man,  as  well  as  to  those  between  man  and  his  fellow- 
man.  When  the  soul,  divested  of  selfishness,  is  born 
into  the  state  of  pure  love,  it  is  then  regenerated  into  the 
image  of  God.  The  two  existences,  the  human  and  the 
divine,  are  alike,  with  the  exception  that  one  is  created, 
the  other  uncreated;  one  is  the  copy,  the  other  the 
original.  In  connection  with  a mutual  likeness  of 
nature,  there  cannot  fail  to  be  a mutual  tendency  to 
union.  So  that  God,  and  the  child  of  God,  are  drawn 
towards  each  other,  and  are  united  and  absorbed,  as  it 
were,  the  less  in  the  greater,  not  only  by  the  law  of 
filiation,  but  by  the  law  of  attraction  involved  in  the  fact 
of  mutual  resemblance. 

6.  There  is  nothing  arbitrary  or  accidental  in  God’s 
moral  kingdom;  nothing  which  violates  responsibility 
and  truth.  Everything,  in  being  established  in  the  truth, 
is  established  in  the  wisdom  of  permanent  law  or  nature ; 
and  nothing  exists  or  is  done  by  unreasonable  will  or  by 
unmeaning  chance.  The  love  of  union,  which  draws 


118 


DIVINE  UNION. 


together  and  makes  kindred  spirits  into  one,  has  its 
nature.  It  loves  existences,  because  it  desires  to  make 
them  good;  it  both  loves  them  and  unites  with  them 
when  they  are  made  good.  It  has  its  nature ; it  has  its 
triumphs  also.  It  is  triumphant,  both  because  it  con- 
quers by  the  might  of  its  attractive  power,  and  also 
because  it  is  happy.  The  union  of  souls,  under  the 
circumstances  which  have  been  mentioned,  cannot  fail 
to  constitute  the  highest  happiness.  They  do  not  love 
in  order  to  be  happy;  but  they  are  happy  because  they 
love.  The  union  of  holy  souls  in  love  is  the  nuptials  of 
the  spirit.  Their  happiness  is  as  bright  and  as  pure  as 
the  love  from  which  it  flows.  Extracted  from  the 
exhaustless  mine  which  constitutes  God’s  happiness,  it 
is  indeed  the  pearl  of  great  price ; the  gem  which  illus- 
trates the  walls  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

7.  Thus  among  holy  beings  there  is  one  great  circle 
of  relationship.  Love  alone,  in  its  mighty  power,  works 
out  the  problem,  of  universal  harmony.  The  fact  of 
holiness,  which  is  but  another  name  for  pure  or  holy 
love,  constitutes  a bond  of  union ; reaching  all,  encir- 
cling all,  beautifying  all.  Those  in  the  same  rank  of 
being  are  attracted  to  each  other ; and  all  are  attracted 
to  that  which  is  higher  in  rank ; not  only  loving,  but 
united  in  love ; and  united  each  in  his  place  and  order, 
on  the  combined  principle  of  extent  of  being  and  perfec- 
tion of  character.  So  that  the  result  is  — God  in  all^ 
and  all  in  God;  the  Father  in  Christ,  and  Christ  in 
those  who  are  begotten  of  him  ; mutually  bound  together 
and  living  in  each  other ; no  more  separated  in  fact,  and 
no  more  capable  of  being  separated  from  each  other  than 
the  rays  of  the  light  are  separated  or  capable  of  being 
separater?  from  the  natural  sun. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ON  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  M4N  IN  LOVE. 

Necessity  of  union  in  love.  — The  love  of  God  and  man  in  union  ncL.st 
kave  the  same  origin.  — Must  also  have  a likeness  of  nature. — 
Must  be  subjected  to  a divine  regulation.  — Illustrations.  — Re- 
marks. 

The  union  of  God  and  man,  on  which  is  founded  the 
realization  of  all  excellence  and  virtue,  necessarily  in- 
volves the  fact  of  union  in  love.  It  is  very  true  that  com- 
plete or  perfect  unity  between  God  and  man  implies  union 
in  other  respects.  All  that  has  been  previously  said  goes 
to  show  that  this  is  the  case.  There  may  be,  for  instance, 
in  addition  to  the  union  of  love,  an  union  of  knowledge  or 
wisdom,  which,  in  the  order  of  nature,  precedes  that  of 
love.  Or  there  may  be  an  union  of  the  human  and  divine 
will,  which,  in  the  order  of  nature,  follows  that  of  love. 
There  not  only  may  be  such  unions  in  a perfectly 
restored  state  of  the  human  mind,  but  there  'must  be. 
But  of  all  the  various  forms  of  union  which  exist,  or 
may  be  supposed  to  exist,  there  is  none  so  important  and 
indispensable  as  that  of  love.  Even  that  of  faith  is  sub- 
ordinate to  it.  For,  although  the  union  of  faith  is  neces- 
sarily antecedent,  and  is  indispensable,  it  would  be  of 
no  avail  without  the  higher  and  more  central  union  of 
love,  which  follows  it. 

Some  references  were  madv?  to  the  union  of  God  and 
man  in  love  in  the  preceding  chapter.  But  we  propose 


120 


DIVINE  UNION. 


to  resume  the  subject  here,  and  make  some  further 
remarks. 

The  union  of  God  and  man  in  love  implies  a number 
of  things.  It  implies,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  love 
which  thus  unites  them  shall  have  the  same  origin. 
The  tAvo  streams  must  flow  from  the  same  fountain* 
God’s  love  is  in  and  from  himself.  Man’s  love,  in  order 
to  be  in  harmony  with  it,  must  be  in  and  from  God  also. 
It  is  impossible  that  the  pure  or  perfect  love  which 

loves  God  with  all  the  heart,  and  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves,” should  rest  on  any  other  than  a divine  and 
infinite  basis.  It  is  of  a nature  so  high,  flowing  out 
freely  and  cheerfully  even  to  those  who  hate  us  and 
despitefully  use  us,”  that  it  requires  and  can  accept 
nothing  less  than  God  for  its  author  and  supporter. 
This  sentiment  we  have  already  expressed ; but  it  is  so 
important  that  it  will  bear  repetition.  Man  has  not 
strength  enough  to  sustain  himself  in  the  exercise  of 
pure  love,  breathing  out,  as  it  does,  its  aspirations  of 
benevolence  towards  its  enemies,  except  so  far  as  he 
rests  upon  God,  and  becomes  a partaker  of  the  divine 
nature.” 

2.  The  union  of  God  and  man  in  love  implies,  in  the 
second  place,  that  man’s  love  must  not  only  be  frona 
God  so  as  to  be  nothing  more  or  less  than  a stream  from 
the  everlasting  fountain,  but  it  must  flow  out  without 
adulteration  or  modification  — in  other  words,  it  must 
be  like  GocPs  love. 

If  we  analyze  these  subjects  carefully,  especially  in 
the  light  of  a holy  experience,  we  shall  find  that  God’s 
love,  as  it  existed  in  the  primitive  and  uncreated  form, 
and  before  any  beings  were  created  by  him,  was,  and 
must  have  been,  of  that  kind  which  is  termed  benevo- 
ential.  And  this  love,  as  it  exists  in  him  now,  which 


UNION  IN  LOVE  . 


121 


consists  in  a sincere  desire  for  the  happiness  of  all  beings, 
simply  because  they  have  a being  or  existence  suscepti- 
ble of  happiness,  is  now,  and  always  will  be,  the  orig- 
inal and  basis  of  all  other  true  love.  It  was  this  love, 
which,  in  the  bosom  of  eternity,  prompted  the  plan  of 
salvation.  We  cannot  experience  the  blessed  state  of 
perfect  union  with  God  in  love,  unless  our  hearts  are 
filled  with  a love  of  this  kind.  Our  love  must  not  only 
have  its  origin  in  the  divine  nature,  in  God  himself,  but 
must  be  like  his.  So  that  it  should  be  our  constant 
prayer,  that  God  would  give  us  a love-nature^  which,  in 
being  kindled  from  the  eternal  fire,  will  burn  of  itself; 
which  will  send  out  its  divine  blaze  in  the  midst  of  per- 
secutions ; and  which  many  waters  cannot  quench.’’ 

3.  Again,  the  union  of  God  and  man  in  love  implies 
that  man’s  love,  in  its  particular  directions,  namely,  as 
it  flows  out  to  his  fellow-men  in  general,  or  to  particular 
classes  of  persons,  or  to  any  created  objects  whatever, 
must  be  subjected  to  a divine  regulation.  In  other 
words,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  a fundamental  principle  in 
the  life  of  God  in  the  soul,  and  in  the  doctrines  of  divine 
union,  that  God  must  not  only  give  us  the  power  to 
love,  but  that  he  must  tell  us  whom  to  love.  We  have 
no  more  right  to  say  whom  we  shall  love  out  of  God, 
than  we  have  to  do  anything  else  out  of  God.  In  our 
character  of  dependent  creatures,  who  have  nothing  of 
our  own,  and  who  do  not  know  how  to  use  even  that 
which  is  given  us,  we  have  no  other  resource  but  to 
trust  God  equally  for  the  gift  and  for  the  regulation 
of  it.  And  this  is  particularly  true  as  respects  the  aflec- 
tion  which  we  are  now  considering.  Love  is  not  only 
the  highest,  the  most  ennobling,  and  the  most  sacred 
principle  of  our  nature,  but  it  is  the  most  powerful.  All 
history,  religious  as  well  as  profane,  is  a testimony  to 
11 


122 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  immensity  of  its  power.  Whether  for  good  or  for 
evil,  it  is  the  true  life  of  the  soul ; making  it  satanic  by 
its  alliance  with  Satan,  or ‘divine  by  its  participation  in 
God.  Such  a principle,  which  carries  with  it  immortal 
destinies,  should  enfold  God  in  it,»not  only  as  the  source 
of  its  life,  but  as  the  guide  of  its  movements. 

4.  Undoubtedly  it  is  the  nature,  or  perhaps  we  should 
rather  say,  the  natural  tendency^  of  holy  love,  in  its 
benevolential  form,  to  extend  itself  in  every  direction, 
and  to  all  beings.  All  that  is  wanting  is  an  occasion  for 
its  operation,  and  such  is  its  nature  that  it  will  operate 
of  itself.  But  a distinction  may  easily  be  made  between 
a tendency  of  the  mind  and  a direction  of  that  tendency. 
It  is  the  tendency  of  all  rivers  to  flow  to  the  ocean,  but 
they  do  not  flow  there  in  a straight  line ; on  the  contrary, 
they  are  continually  diversified  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  of  nature.  The  rule,  applicable  in  this  case  to  a 
holy  mind,  is,  that  we  must  leave  this  tendency  under 
the  direction  of  Providence,  and  not  direct  it  in  our  own 
will.  It  is  true  we  cannot  rightfully  be  deprived  of  our. 
own  choice ; but  we  are  bound  to  make  a right  choice, 
and  our  choice  ought  always  to  be,  to  let  the  movements 
of  our  hearts  be  guided  by  God’s  choice.  The  will  of 
the  creature  is  as  disastrous  here  as  anywhere  else.  Let 
our  love,  then,  flow  where  Providence  indicates  that  it 
ought  to  flow.  God,  who  reveals  himself  in  his  provi- 
dences, and  acts  through  them,  and  God  only,  should 
choose  for  us. 

5.  But  supposing  that  the  Providence  of  God  places 
before  us,  as  the  objects  of  our  love,  those  who  are 
exceedingly  depraved  and  vicious,  are  we  bound  to 
love  them  in  that  case?  Most  certainly  we  are.  They 
are  appropriate  objects  of  the  love  of  benevolence ; al- 
though they  are  not  so  of  complacential  love  or  of  unitive 


1 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


123 


love.  And  benevolential  love,  which  loves  existences 
simply  because  they  have  an  existence,  is  the  primitive 
form  of  love,  and  the  basis  of  all  other  forms.  This  is 
the  first  or  original  form  of  love  in  God  and  in  all  holy 
beings. 

As  the  appropriate  object  of  this  form  of  love  is  exist- 
ence in  distinction  from  character,  it  will  naturally 
direct  itself,  in  an  especial  manner,  towards  those  whom 
Providence  has  particularly  associated  with  us,  no  mat- 
ter what  their  characters  may  be.  The  mere  fact  of 
sentient  existence,  presented  before  us  as  an  object  of 
contemplation,  will  stir  up  the  waters  at  the  hearths 
fountain ; but  the  relations  of  Providence  will  indicate 
the  channels  in  which  they  must  flow.  Our  relatives 
and  others,  with  whom  we  are  particularly  associated 
in  providence,  may  be  very  wicked.  But  the  fact  of 
their  wickedness  does  not  destroy  the  other  and  everlast- 
ing fact,  that  they  are  accountable  existences  ; that  they 
have  immortal  souls;  that  they  are  capable  of  great 
happiness  or  great  misery.  Fallen,  degraded,  misera- 
ble, they  may  be ; but  if  we  are  like  God,  how  can  we 
help  loving  them  ? God  is  a fountain  of  love,  flowing 
out  continually  towards  all  his  creatures,  sparing  not 
even  his  own  Son  to  save  and  bless  them,  and  showing, 
more  than  in  any  other  way,  his  love  to  those  who  are 
his  enemies. 

6.  We  may  withhold  from  the  wicked,  esteem,  respect, 
gratitude,  honor ; we  may  require  of  them  penitence ; 
we  may  be  willing  to  see  them  sufier  so  far  as  justice 
requires  them  to  suffer ; but  we  should  never  withhold 
love.  W e never  can  withhold  it  without  crime.  And  if  we 
must  love  the  wicked,  who  are  placed  before  us  in  provi- 
dence, certainly  we  must  love  the  good.  But  in  neither 
case  are  we  allowed  to  love,  as  to  persons  or  degree, 


124 


DIVINE  UNION. 


otherwise  than  God  directs.  The  limitation  of  our 
capacity  and  position  implies,  although  the  tendency  of 
the  love  of  benevolence  is  to  love  all  alike,  that  we  can- 
not love  all  alike  in  fact.  And  a proper  sense  of  that 
limitation  will  lead  us  to  prefer  that  God  should  make 
the  selection  rather  than  that  we  should  make  it  our- 
selves. Providence,  to  those  who  have  perfect  faith,  is 
an  infallible  guide. 

7.  Look,  then,  constantly  to  God,  here  as  elsewhere. 
Recognizing  the  great  fact,  that  thou  hast  no  fountain  in 
thyself,  let  thy  heart  be  fed  from  God’s  heart.  The 
same  in  source,  let  thy  love  be  the  same  in  character ; a 
love  that  loves  without  looking  for  reward.  And  then, 
placed  entirely  under  God’s  direction,  let  the  stream  of 
love  flow  out  and  flow  on.  Under  such  conditions,  it 
is  certain,  that  God’s  and  man’s  affections  cannot  be 
discordant.  And  it  is  in  such  a state  of  things  that  God 
aid  man  may  be  said  to  be  ujiited  in  love. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OF  THE  MANIFESTATIONS  OF  LOVE  IN  THE  FORM  OF  SYMPATHY. 

Explanations  of  the  term.  — Illustrations  of  the  subject.  — Sympathy 
in  connection  with  the  business  of  the  world.  — Sympathy  with 
beginners  in  religion.  — Holy  sympathy  discriminating. — Power  of 
this  principle. 

It  is  especially  characteristic  of  the  man  who  is  united 
with  God  in  love,  that  he  is  sympathetic.  The  term 
SYMPATHY,  which,  in  its  origin,  is  derived  from  the  Greek 
language,  expresses  literally  and  strictly,  harmony^  or 
union  of  feeling.  There  must,  therefore,  be  two  or 
more  persons,  who  are  the  subjects  of  this  united  or 
common  feeling.  There  must,  also,  be  some  common 
object,  in  reference  to  which  this  united  feeling  is  exer- 
cised. Accordingly,  the  sympathetic  man  is  one  who 
harmonizes  in  feeling,  on  the  appropriate  occasions  of 
sympathy,  with  the  feelings  and  situation  of  those 
around  him. 

2.  The  basis  of  sympathy  is  love.  Love  is  the  essence, 
of  which  sympathy  is  one  of  the  modifications  or  forms. 
It  is  the  nature  of  pure  or  holy  love,  not  only  to  seek 
the  good  of  others,  but,  harmonizing  with  the  peculiari- 
ties of  their  situation,  to  rejoice  in  their  joys,  and  to 
grieve  in  their  sorrows.  If  we  truly  love  others,  it  will 
be  a necessary  result  that  we  shall  take  an  interest  in 
11=^ 


126 


DIVINE  UNION. 


everything  which  concerns  them.  Love,  taking  this 
form,  is  sympathy. 

3.  We  will  endeavor  to  give  some  illustrations  of  this 
interesting  state  of  mind.  A truly  pious  person,  one  in 
whom  the  principle  of  holy  love  predominates,  is  a mem- 
ber of  a family.  It  does  not  make  3.nj  difference,  in 
relation  to  the  subject  under  consideration,  whether  he 
is  a member  by  the  ties  of  relationship,  or  a member  by 
mere  residence.  One  of  the  members  of  the  family  is 
severely  afflicted  with  sickness.  The  occurrence  of  this 
affliction  furnishes  the  occasion  on  which  the  principle 
of  holy  love,  moved  by  its  own  law  of  action,  assumes 
the  form  of  sympathy.  The  person  who  is  the  resi- 
dent of  the  family,  being  such  as  we  have  described  him 
to  be,  cannot  witness  such* an  afflic^Jion 'without  ‘‘weep- 
ing with  him  who  weeps.”  His  sympathy,  in  the  exist- 
ing state  of  his  mind,  is  a sort  of  necessity  to  him.  It  is 
possible  that  it  may  not  present  the  same  aspect  with 
the  sympathy  of  unsanctified  nature,  which  is  often 
agitated  by  fear,  and  perverted  by  selfishness.  But, 
always  necessary  and  certain-  in  its  existence,  it  will  be 
of  that  tender,  judicious,  and  permanent  character,  which 
will  be  the  most  useful,  besides  being  the  most  heavenly. 

4.  We  will  suppose,  again,  not  that  the  persons  around 
us  are  sick,  but  that  they  have  been  deprived  of  the 
means  "of  knowledge,  and  are  exceedingly  ignorant. 
They  are  excluded  from  science  and  literature,  even  in 
their  simplest  forms.  The  Bible,  with  its  precious  con- 
solations, is  a sealed  book  to  them.  It  is  impossible  that 
they  should  experience  such  deprivations  without  being 
afflicted ; and  it  is  impossible  that  holy  persons,  filled 
with  the  love  of  God  and  man,  should  be  acquainted 
with  their  situation,  without  sympathy.  That  is  to  say, 
under  the  impulse  of  love,  they  suffer  with  those  afflicted 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


127 


ones  at  the  same  time  that  they  desire  to  relieve  their 
sufferings ; the  term  sympathy,  expressing,  in  this  case, 
the  combined  feeling  of  sorrow  for  their  want,  and  of 
benevolent  desire  for  its  alleviation. 

5.  The  principle  of  sympathy,  as  it  exists  in  a holy 
mind,  is  not  limited  in  its  exercise  to  occasions  furnished 
by  men’s  physical  sufferings,  or  by  their  spiritual  wants. 
In  things  which  are  not  directly  of  a religious  character, 
but  have  certain  prudential  relations  and  issues,  and  are 
thought,  by  the  men  of  the  world,  to  be  important  to 
them,  we  are  at  liberty  to  harmonize  in  feeling  and 
action,  so  far  as  can  be  done  consistently  with  the  claims 
of  religion.  This  results,  in  part,  from  the  peculiarities 
of  our  position.  While  a renovated  heart,  on  the  one 
hand,  allies  us  with  angels,  a weak  and  dying  body,  on 
the  other,  allies  us  with  the  toils  and  wants  of  human- 
ity. And  we  still  have  a bond  of  union  in  many  things 
connected  with  our  position,  however  different  we  may 
be  in  character.  So  that  there  may  be  occasions  on 
which  the  most  devoted  Christian  may  as  truly  sympa- 
thize with  his  neighbors  in  building  a bridge  or  a road, 
in  establishing  manufactories,  in  perfecting  useful  inven- 
tions, or  in  some  other  work  connected  with  the  ordi- 
nary wants  of  men,  as  in  building  a church.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  religion  dissociates  us  from 
humanity  in  anything  which  is  lawful. 

6.  The  principle  of  holy  sympathy  is  very  important, 
considered  as  constituting  a medium  of  communication 
and  a bond  of  union  between  hearts  which  have  experi- 
enced the  highest  degrees  of  love,  and  those  which  are 
only  partly  sanctified.  In  a holy  heart,  to  a consider- 
able extent  at  least,  faith  takes  the  place  of  desire , and 
cons^3quently,  as  a general  thing,  praise  will  predom- 
inate over  supplication.  A holy  heart  is  a heaxt  jubilant ; 


128 


DIVINE  UNION. 


a heart  “ always  rejoicing.”  But  when  the  holy  person 
comes  into  the  company  of  those  who  are  in  a tower 
degree  of  experience,  — who  have  much  darkness  min- 
gled with  their  light,  and  much  sorrow  mingled  with 
their  joy,  — the  principle  of  holy  sympathy  alters  his 
position,  and  leads  him  to  unite  his  supplications  with 
theirs.  He  goes  down  from  the  mount  of  transfigura- 
tion” into  the  deep  and  dark  valley;  and,  under  the 
impulse  of  love,  which  is  now  changed  into  sympathy, 
he  seeks,  with  wrestling  and  tears,  to  deliver  his  breth- 
ren. 

7.  Holy  sympathy,  in  distinction  from  mere  natural 
sympathy,  is  discriminating.  That  is  to  say,  it  is 
restricted  and  modified,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  man,  by 
the  operation  of  the  still  higher  form  of  the  same  princi- 
ple, which  may  be  described  as  sympathy  with  God, 
Holy  sympathy,  in  being  the  ofispring  of  holy  love,  is 
not  like  that  weak  sympathy  generated  from  the  natural 
heart,  which  modifies  kindness  by  selfishness,  and  seeks 
a momentary  relief  of  the  sufferer  rather  than  the  ulti- 
mate and  greatest  good.  Having  its  origin  in  the  Divine 
Nature,  it  is  always,  in  its  operations  and  results,  sub- 
jected to  the  providence  and  will  of  God.  And,  accord- 
ingly, it  sometimes  exists  where  it  does  not  find  itself  at 
liberty  to  relieve  the  suffering  for  which  it  feels.  It  is 
not  in  the  nature  of  holy  sympathy,  however  intense  it 
may  be,  *to  do  anything  which  is  wrong.  And,  accord- 
ingly, the  person  whose  heart  harmonizes  with  God, 
never  undertakes  to  relieve  that  suffering  which  God,  in 
his  providence,  evidently  imposes  for  the  good  of  him 
who  is  afilicted.  His  sympathy  with  God’s  ultimate 
designs  regulates  the  tendencies  of  his  sympathy  for  the 
^ufierer. 

8.  And  thus  .regulated,  the  principle  of  sympathy, 


/ 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


129 


springing  as  it  does  from  holy  love,  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  effective  elements  of  a holy  life.  It  links 
the  divine  with  the  human,  the  upright  with  the  fallen, 
the  angel  with  the  man.  It  has  been  the  moving 
impulse,  the  life,  of  good  men  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 
It  detached  Moses  from  the  court  of  Egypt,  that  it  might 
unite  him  with  the  sufferers  of  the  desert ; it  poured  its 
energies  into  the  heart  of  Paul,  and  carried  him  from 
nation  to  nation;  in  modern  times,  it  has  carried  devoted 
missionaries  into  all  parts  of  the  world ; it  moves  the 
hearts  of  angels,  of  whom  it  is  said,  “ there  is  joy  among 
the  angels  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth.’’ 
It  achieved  its  mightiest  triumph  when  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  clothing  himself  in  human  form,  chose  to  be 
smitten  and  die  upon  the  cross  rather  than  separate  him- 
self from  the  interests  of  fallen  humanity. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ON  THE  RELIGION  OF  LOVE  AS  COMPARED  WITH  THE  RELIGION 
OF  OBLIGATION. 

Two  principles  of  action.  — Illustrations  of  these  principles.  — Rela- 
tions of  love  and  obligation.  — The  holy  man  acts  from  the  principle 
of  love.  — He  is  approved  by  conscience  without  feeling  the  com- 
pulsions of  conscience. 

The  view  which  has  been  given  of  love,  as  the  great 
central  element  in  religious  experience,  would  be  imper- 
fect without  presenting  the  matter  in  one  other  aspect, 
namely,  the  religion  of  love  as  compared  with  the  religion 
of  obligation. 

There  are  two  important  principles  in  the  human  con- 
stitution, which  are  very  different  from  each  other  in 
their  nature;  but  which,  operating  in  different  ways, 
often  harmonize  in  the  production  of  the  same  results. 
The  one  is  the  great  principle  of  love,  which  we  have 
been  endeavoring  to  illustrate ; the  other  is  the  feeling 
of  moral  obligation.  Cases  of  human  conduct,  illustra- 
tive of  the  operation  of  these  two  principles,  are  very 
frequent. 

A man,  for  instance,  visits  and  relieves  one  who  ir 
sick.  The  action,  which  is  so  interesting  and  importan., 
may  be  ascribed  either  to  the  principle  of  love,  or  the 
sentiment  of  duty.  The  father  of  a family  restrains 
those  under  his  care  from  outward  labors  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  visits  the  house  of  God  with  them;  and,  in 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


131 


doing  so,  he  may  be  moved  by  love  to  God,  or  merely  by 
the  constraint  of  mental  conviction  and  obligation.  A 
child  may  render  obedience  to  his  parents  from  either  of 
these  motives ; either  because  he  loves  to  obey,  — it  being 
a pleasure,  a delight  to  him  to  obey,  — or  because,  with- 
out love,  and  sometimes  against  love,  he  feels  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  obey.  And  thus  of  many  other  instances. 

2.  It  is  important  to  ascertain  the  true  position  and 
the  comparative  relations  of  these  principles.  In  the 
order  of  nature,  love  is  the  first  in  time.  The  heart 
naturally  operates  before  the  conscience.  One  evidence 
of  this  is,  that  it  is  the  office  of  the  conscience  to  intimate 
the  proper  regulations,  and  to  establish  the  law  of  the 
heart.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  there  can  be  no 
regulation  without  something  which  is  regulated  ; and 
conscience,  whose  business  it  is  to  regulate  and  direct, 
would  obviously  be  a faculty  without  application  and 
without  use,  if  there  were  not  propensities  and  affections 
which  in  the  order  of  nature  operated  antecedently. 
Love  is  the  true  impulsive  principle,  the  central  move- 
ment or  life  of  man,  as  it  is  pf  God  and  of  all  holy 
beings.  Of  conscience,  it  can  only  be  said  that  it  is  its 
guard,  the  flaming  sword  which  waves  and  flashes 
round  it  to  protect  its  purity.  And  he  who  does  not  act 
in  the  right  way  naturally,  and  by  the  power  of  his  own 
loving  life,  must  be  wounded  and  goaded  into  the 
right  by  the  authority  and  the  penalties  of  the  moral 
sense. 

3.  Does  the  truly  holy  man,  the  man  who  has  his 
life  in  God,  act  from  love  or  from  conscience?  The 
statements  which  have  already  been  made,  indicate  the 
answer.  The  holy  man  acts  from  holy  love,  — that  is  to 
say,  from  such  love  as  conscience  approves.  The  holy 
man  does  not  act  from  mere  will,  against  the  desires  of 


132 


DIVINE  UNION. 


his  sensitive  or  atfectional  nature,  on  the  ground,  and  for 
the  reason,  that  his  conscience  requires  him  to  do  so ; but^ 
on  the  contrary,  acts  under  the  impulse  of  holy  and  lov- 
ing affections,  — affections  which  are  the  regenerated  gift 
of  God,  and  which  sweetly  carry  the  will  with  it.  He 
acts,  not  so  much  from  conscience,  as  with  conscience. 
He  acts  from  that,  in  himself,  which  makes  him  a par- 
taker of  the  divine  nature,  namely,  holy  love,  with  con- 
science standing  by,  as  it  were,  with  its  approbation  and 
encouragement. 

4.  And  this  leads  us  to  the  explanation  of  one  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  higher  states  of  religious  experience. 
It  is  this.  The  more  holy  a man  is,  the  less  he  feels  of 
the  compulsive  power  of  conscience.  When  the  heart, 
or  rather  the  principle  of  love  in  the  heart,  (the  loi^e- 
nature^  if  we  may  so  express  it,)  is  adequate  to  the  object 
of  effecting  or  carrying  out  good  purposes,  conscience  is 
not  known  or  felt  in  the  matter,  except  in  that  sweet, 
approving  calm  of  the  spirit,  which  is  the  result  of 
inward  adjustment  and  harmony.  This  is  so  much  the 
case,  that  sometimes  persons,  who  have  been  fully 
reendowed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  with  a new  love-nature, 
have  almost  had  a fear  that  they  had  lost  their  con- 
science. But  it  should  be  remembered  that  conscience 
has  two  forms  or  modes  of  action ; that  which  constrains 
or  compels  to  do  right,  and  that  which  approves  when 
right  is  done.  And  while  it  is  true  that  holy  persons  are 
not  constrained  or  compelled  by  conscience,  acting  as 
they  obviously  do,  by  the  impulses  of  a holy  life  or 
nature,  without  compulsion,  it  is  equally  true  that  they 
are  approved  by  conscience.  The  holy  joy  within  them, 
the  calm,  triumphant  peace  which  they  experience,  the 
peace  of  God,  the  peace  of  angels,  are  both  the  evidence 
and  the  result  of  this  approval. 


UNION  IN  LOVE. 


133 


5.  It  is  a saying  of  St.  Augustine  — • “ Love,  and  do 
what  you  please.’’  In  acting  from  the  impulse  of  love, 
we  are  conscious  of  the  highest  freedom.  But  pure  love, 
or  right  love,  (that  to  which  St.  Augustine  refers,)  is, 
by  the  very  terms  used,  a love  which  is  conformed  to 
law.  It  is  a love  which  is  pure  from  selfishness,  a love 
which  is  right;  a love  which  does  not,  and  cannot, 
while  it  remains  pure,  vary  from  the  law  of  moral  recti- 
tude. He,  who  acts  from  such  love,  while  he  is  con- 
scious of  the  highest  freedom,  is  safe  in  doing  what  he 
pleases,  not  only  because  his  pleasure  consists  in  benev- 
olent feeling  and  action,  but  because  his  pleasure  is 
always  conformed  to  what  is  right.  He  is  under  law 
without  feeling  its  pressure ; because  the  pressure  of  law, 
or  that  which  makes  it  felt  as  a compulsive  and  con- 
straining power,  never  is  and  never  can  be  felt,  while  the 
subject  of  it  entirely  harmonizes  in  feeling  as  well  as  in 
action  with  its  requisitions.  The  man  who,  in  perfect 
health,  breathes  the  pure  air  of  heaven,  breathes  freely  ; 
— but  he  does  it  in  subjection  to  the  laws  of  respiration, 
and  yet  without  feeling  any  constraint,  and  perhaps 
without  knowing  that  there  are  such  laws.  The  man 
who  walks  the  earth,  in  the  perfect  exercise  of  his  mus- 
cles, is  conscious  of  freedom,  and  of  acting  his  own 
pleasure,  while,  at  the  same  time,  every  movement  is  in 
subjection  to  the  law  of  gravitation,  and  cannot  be  made 
without  it.  Indeed,  it  is  the  physical  law  in  these  cases, 
harmonizing  with  the  purpose  of  the  personal  volition, 
which  sustains  both  breathing  and  movement.  And  so 
it  is  the  eternal  law  of  right,  indicating  the  channels  in 
which  it  should  flow,  but  Avithout  using  compulsion, 
when  compulsion  is  not  needed,  which  sustains  pure  or 
holy  love  in  a state  of  purity. 

6.  Angels  have  a conscience.  They  do  always  what 

12 


134 


DIVINE  UNION. 


is  right,  and  never  otherwise  than  what  is  right.  But 
they  do  not  do  it  under  the  compulsions  of  conscience,  hut 
from  the  excellent  and  just  impulses  of  a purified  ana 
loving  nature.  Conscience  is  a law  to  them,  as  it  is  a 
law  to  all  other  holy  beings.  But  law,  we  are  told,  “ is 
made  for  the  lawless.”  (1  Tim.  1:9.)  Those  who  are 
not  lawless,  but  whose  hearts  and  actions,  of  their  own 
accord,  harmonize  with  the  law,  are  under  the  law  with- 
out feeling  the  pressure  of  the  law ; rendering  obedience  to 
the  law,  almost  without  knowing  what  the  law  is.  If 
they  should  attempt  or  desire  to  disobey,  they  would  at 
once  have  knowledge  as  distinct  as  it  would  be  painful. 
In  other  words,  the  operations  of  the  conscience  are  an- 
ticipated and  lost,  as  it  were,  in  the  antecedent  operations 
of  holy  love.  And  these  statements,  which  apply  to 
angels  and  other  unfallen  beings,  will  apply  essentially 
to  men. 


I! 


li 


CHAPTER  IX. 


KEOAPITULATION  OF  SOME  OF  THE  PRINCIPLES  WHICH  HAVE  BEEN 
EXPLAINED  IN  THE  SECOND,  THIRD,  AND  FOURTH  PARTS. 

I. 

Faith,  considered  as  an  element  of  the  Divine  mind,  is 
a nature^  and  not  an  acquisition.  In  man,  also,  faith  is 
a nature.  But  in  God  it  is  nature  eternal ; in  man,  it 
is  nature  given, 

II. 

God,  without  faith  in  himself,  could  not  be  God.  And 
man,  without  faith  in  God  as  his  Father,  could  not  be 
the  child  of.  God.  When  man,  therefore,  was  originally 
created,  he  was  created  with  faith  in  God. 

III. 

Faith  is  the  antecedent  of  knowledge.  We  cannot 
have  knowledge,  without  having  and  using  the  instru- 
ments of  knowledge.  The  instruments  of  knowledge, 
consisting  in  the  various  powers  of  perception  and  judg- 
ment which  we  possess,  are  God’s  workmanship;  and 
we  cannot  have  faith  in  the  instruments,  without  having 
faith  in  the  author  of  them.  And  this  is  a truth  of  phi- 
losophy, as  well  as  of  religion. 

IV. 

Knowledge,  in  the  ordinary  use  of  the  word,  has  refer- 
ence to  those  things  which  are  distinctly  within  the 


136 


DIVINE  UNION. 


reach  of  the  human  mind;  — the  objects  immediately 
around  us,  — the  present  realities  of  space  and  time. 
Pa  ith,  in  the  religious  application  of  the  term,  has  rela- 
tion to  those  things  which  are  beyond  these  limits.  So 
that,  as  far  as  the  human  mind  or  any  finite  mind  is 
concerned,  the  appropriate  object  of  knowledge  is  the 
FINITE,  while  the  appropriate  object  of  faith  is  the  infinite. 

V. 

God  is  directly  the  inspirer  and  author  of  faith;  and 
indirectly,  though  not  less  really,  the  author  of  knowl- 
edge. That  is  to  say,  he  not  only  gives  and  sustains 
the  instruments  of  knowledge,  but,  acting  in  concurrence 
with  that  consent  which  is  appropriate  to  a moral  nature, 
he  directs  them.  In  both  cases,  God,  and  God  only,  is 
the  great  and  true  teacher. 

VI. 

If  man  was  originally  created  in  faith,  he  could  not 
have  fallen  from  his  original  state,  except  by  ceasing  to 
have  faith ; — in  other  words,  by  unbelief.  And  he  can- 
not be  restored  to  the  state  from  which  he  fell,  except  by 
the  restoration  of  faith.  Provision  for  this  restoration  is 
made  in  Jesus  Christ.  And  this  restoration  is  actually 
realized  in  the  case  of  all  those,  who,  in  ceasing  to  have 
faith  in  themselves,  have  opened  the  door  of  their  hearts 
for  the  faith  which  is  in  God. 

VII. 

We  cannot  love  God  as  our  Father,  without  first 
believing  in  him  as  our  Father.  Faith,  therefore,  which 
stands  first  in  order,  may  be  regarded  as  the  intellectual 
condition  of  sonship.  Love,  taking  a more  inward  and 
central  position,  is  the  emotional,  or,  more  strictly  and 
jetter,  the  affectional  condition  of  sonship.  So  that,  if 


RECAPITULATION  OF  PRINCIPLES.  137 

falh  stands  first  in  the  order  of  nature,  love  stands  first 
in  rank. 

VIII. 

Holy  love,  that  love  which  loves  without  reward, 
which  loves  the  evil  as  well  as  the  good,  and  which 

casts  out  fear,’’  can  exist  originally  only  in  an  Infinite 
being.  As  it  loves  its  enemies,  it  must  be  allied  with  a 
power  w^ich  can  cast  out  all  fear  of  its  enemies ; and  as 
it  thus  loves  without  any  regard  to  the  degree  or  strength 
of  enmity,  it  can  find  an  adequate  support  only  in  a 
power  which  is  infinite.  Holy  love,  therefore,  considered 
in  its  source,  is  in  natural  and  necessary  alliance  with 
infinite  power.  Its  fountain-head  is  God. 

IX. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  God  cannot  exist  as  God 
without  holy  love  as  the  central  principle  of  his  exist- 
ence. It  is  obvious,  that  he  must  have  some  central  and 
permanent  principle  of  life ; and  if  it  be  not  love,  it  must 
be  the  opposite  of  love,  which  is  impossible.  Love, 
therefore,  is  the  life  of  his  infinity. 

X. 

As  God,  considered  as  a creator,  is  perfect  in  his  crea- 
tions, it  is  a necessity  to  him,  (using  the  term  in  its  moral 
and  not  its  physical  sense,)  to  create  beings  in  the  per- 
fectness of  his  own  image.  Accordingly  all  moral  beings 
are  created,  in  the  first  instance,  in  the  likeness  of  God’s 
love. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  love  as  of  faith.  In  God  or 
the  Infinite  Holy  it  is  nature  eternal ; in  the  finite  holy, 
(including  in  the  expression  all  created  holy  beings,)  it 
is  nature  given, 

XI. 

All  holy  beings,  therefore,  are  constituted,  in  the  first 


138 


DIVINE  UNION. 


instance,  with  a love-nature.  And  this  benevolent  and 
loving  nature,  which  is  accepted  and  sustained  by  their 
own  choice,  is  derived  and  nurtured,  like  streams  flow- 
ing from  their  parent  lake,  from  the  infinite  love-nature. 
And  all  beings  who  have  fallen  from  that  original  state, 
but  who  are  fully  regenerated  again  into  the  love-spirit, 
have  not  merely  a new  position,  but  a new  life, — a foun- 
tain springing  up  within  them  forever,  — in  consequence 
of  its  birth  or  filiation  from  that  true  life  of  God  which 
can  never  die. 

XII. 

And  this  life  (as  is  always  implied  in  the  expressions 
pure  or  holy  love  when  used  in  distinction  from  love 
without  any  such  qualifying  epithet)  has  a law  in 
itself;  so  that  it  not  only  brings  the  subject  of  it  into 
action  by  its  power  of  movement,  but  its  activity,  with- 
out needing  the  compulsions  flowing  from  the  moral 
sense,  is  always  approved  by  the  moral  sense;  and  har- 
monizes alike  with  truth  and  with  rectitude. 

XIII. 

All  beings,  which,  by  being  under  the  influence  of 
holy  love,  may  be  said  to  be  in  the  true  life,  necessarily 
live  in  harmony  with  each  other,  because  they  live  from 
one  central  power ; each  being  kept  in  his  appropriate 
sphere  by  a principle  of  adjustment,  which  has  its  origin 
in  God,  but  which  reaches  and  regulates  all  the  holy 
creatures  of  God. 

XIV. 

And  this  being  the  case,  holy  beings,  in  their  respec- 
tive spheres  of  existence,  constitute  holy  communities  or 
societies;  being  the  subjects  of  a relationship  which  is  sus- 
tained by  its  constitutive  laws,  and  which  is  as  beauti- 
ful as  it  is  permanent ; and  while  they  are  thus  bound 


RECAPITULATION  OF  PRINCIPLES.*  139 


to  each  other  by  the ' golden  links  of  love,  they  are  not 
less  bound  to  God,  who  is  their  Father  and  their  com- 
mon source  of  life.  And,  accordingly,  it  is  said  in  the 
Epistles  of  John,  ‘^Love  is  of  God,  and  every  one  that 
loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth  God.’’  And  again, 
in  another  place,  — God  is  love  ; and  he  that  dwelleth 
in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him.” 


OH  1.0 VE!  THOU  DAY-STAR  OF  THE  HEART! 

Oh  love ! thou  day-star  of  the  heart ! 

Ascend  upon  thy  throne ! 

Victor  and  lord,  where’er  thou  art, 

To  all  within  the  power  impart, 

Of  life  to  God  alone. 

Such  is  the  magic  of  thy  sway 
Upon  the  holy  mind. 

That  sin,  all  powerless  in  thy  ray. 

Departs,  as  night-shades  flee  the  day, 

And  leaves  no  cloud  behind. 

My  soul  was  dark  in  other  years ; 

The  stain  was  on  my  brow ; 

And  something  whispers  to  my  fears 
The  loss  of  all  but  sin  and  tears. 

If  thou  shouldst  leave  me  now. 

But  fears  are  gone,  and  tears  are  bright, 

Lit  with  the  beams  of  love  : 

There  is  no  sin,  nor  grief,  nor  night, 

To  him  whose  inmost  soul  is  light 
With  radiance  from  above. 


PART  FIFTH. 


ON  THE  WILL  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  UNION  OF  THE  DIVINE  AND 
HUMAN  WILL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  RELATION  OF  THE  WILL  OF  GOD  TO  OTHER  PARTS 
OF  THE  DIVINE  NATURE. 

Definition  of  the  divine  will.  — On  the  necessity  of  an  union  of  the 
human  will  with  the  divine.  — A given  act  of  the  will  embodies  and 
represents  all  antecedent  knowledge  and  affections.  — In  uniting 
with  God’s  will,  we  unite  with  God  in  the  full  extent  of  his  being. 

In  considering  the  wide  and  important  subject  of 
Divine  Union,  we  proceed  now  to  another  series  of  top- 
ics, involving  the  relations  of  the  human  and  divine 
will. 

So  far  as  we  understand  the  state  of  union  in  any 
given  case,  we  necessarily  understand,  at  least  in  some 
important  particulars,  the  nature  of  the  objects  which 
are  united  together.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that, 
being  a part  of  our  own  nature,  we  know  what  the 
human  will  is ; and  in  this,  as  in  many  other  things,  we 
may  reason  from  ourselves  to  our  Maker.  And,  accord- 
ingly, the  idea  which  men  entertain  of  the  will  of 
God,  considered  as  a separate  attribute  of  the  Divine 
Mind,  is  d3rived  from  that  which  they  have  of  their 


UNIONIN  WILL.  141 

3wn  wills.  The  will  of  God  analogous  to  the  will  of 
man,  but  infinitely  superior  in  its  applications  and  ex- 
tent, is  that  power  in  God  which  originates  the  divine 
volitions,  purposes,  or  decisions. 

2.  Union  with  God  implies  and  requires,  not  only 
union  in  knowledge  and  love,  but  union  also,  and  per- 
haps still  more  emphatically,  with  the  divine  will.  And 
the  reason  of  this  will  be  the  more  clearly  seen  in  pro- 
portion as  we  more  fully  understand  the  relation  of  the 
will  of  God  to  the  Intellectual  and  affectional  parts  of 
the  divine  nature. 

In  God,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  man,  the  will,  or 
rather  the  act  of  the  will,  which  consolidates  and  real- 
izes the  perceptions  and  affections  in  oneness  of  purpose 
and  action,  constitutes  their  true  unity.  It  is  true  that 
God’s  knowledge  may  properly  be  regarded  and  con- 
templated as  a whole ; but  extending  to  a multitude  of 
distinct  objects,  it  is  equally  true  that  it  is  fractional 
# and  in  parts,  so  far  as  it  exists  in  relation  to  particular 
cases.  And  besides,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men, 
knowledge  is  to  be  compared  with  knowledge,  and  to  be 
appropriately  adjusted,  in  order  that  purpose  and  action 
may  be  based  upon  the  highest  or  perfect  knowledge. 
The  divine  affections  also  diversify  and  multiply  them- 
selves upon  all  thb  appropriate  objects  of  affection;’ 
objects  which  are  found  everywhere,  as  far  as  knowl- 
edge itself  extends.  These  affections  are  perfect  in  their 
sphere;  but,  being  many  in  number,  they  do  not  repre- 
sent, in  particular  cases,  the  wholeness  or  completeness 
of  the  divine  nature.  Affection  is  to  be  compared  with 
affection  in  order  to  ascertain  their  comparative  and  just 
value.  But  the  will,  which  never  acts  in  a perfect 
being  except  on  the  comparison  and  adjustment  of  all 


142 


divi>:e  union. 


knowledge  and  all  affection,  centralizes  and  unites  all 
in  one. 

3.  So  that  the  act  of  the  will,  in  a perfect  mind,  may 
always  be  regarded  as  indicating  and  representing  both 
the  highest  knowledge  and  the  highest  affection.  It 
embraces  all  which  can  be  comprehended  under  the 
head  of  knowledge  and  affection,  and  still  without  being 
divided  in  itself.  Being  perfect,  the  divine  will  or  pur- 
pose can  never  be  otherwise  than  it  is ; and  being  the 
final  decision  of  the  mind,  and  excluding  all  decisions 
and  acts  against  itself,  and  standing  alone  in  its  suprem- 
acy, it  is  necessarily  one  thing.  God  can  never  will 
anything  without  centralizing,  in  regard  to  that  partic- 
ular thing,  his  whole  nature ; consolidating,  in  that  one 
act,  its  multiplicities  of  thought  and  feeling  into  U7iity. 

So  that  God’s  purpose,  developed  in  the  precise  time  of 
his  purpose,  is  the  true  representation  or  expression  of 
God  himself,  existing  at  the  same  moment  as  perfect 
fulness  or  completeness  embodied  in  perfect  simplicity.  ^ 
And  it  is  here  that  union  with  God  is  especially  neces- 
sary. 

4.  If  we  consider  the  subject  on  the  side  of  man,  we 
see  also  the  greatness  of  this  necessity.  Man’s  percep- 
tive powers  are  limited.  They  do  not  correspond,  in 
•extent,  with  those  of  God ; and  consequently  we  can 
unite  with  God,  in  the  matter  of  knowledge,  only 
in  a limited  degree.  The  union  with  him,  in  this 
respect,  may  be  perfect  as  far  as  it  goes ; but  it  is^ 
restricted  in  extent.  And  it  will  be  found  to  be  the 
same  in  relation  to  love.  We  may  harmonize  perfectly 
with  the  divine  love,  in  all  cases  where  objects  of  love 
are  presented  to  us.  But  the  sphere  of  our  knowledge, 
through  which  objects  are  presented  to  us,  being  lim- 
ted,  the  sphere  of  our  love  also  is  limited.  Practically, 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


143 


our  love  cannot,  in  its . extent,  be  carried  beyond  the 
limit  of  known  objects  of  love. 

But,  in  the  acts  of  the  will,  the  Godhead,  it  we  may 
be  allowed  the  expression,  so  simplifies  itself,  that  the 
harmony  between  the  created  and  the  uncreated,  the 
human  and  the  divine,  may  be  perfect  in  extent  as  well 
as  degree.  God’s  will  (we  mean  here,  by  the  term,  the 
act  of  his  will  in  any  given  case)  is  a unity,  combining 
together,  as  it  were,  and  representing  the  whole  of  his 
knowledge,  the  whole  of  his  love,  the  whole  of  his 
nature.  As  all  objects  may  be,  and  are,  present  to  it  in 
a single  glance,  and  compressed  as  it  were  into  the 
eternal  now,  a single  act  of  the  will,  embracing  and 
adjusting  all  previous  knowledge  and  all  previous  feel- 
ing, decides  upon  all,  enacts  all,  establishes  all.  It  is 
this  act  of  the  will, — an  act  extending  to  and  consolidat- 
ing everything  else,  — with  which  we  are  required  to  be 
united.  Based  upon  infinite  variety,  m itself  ii  is  but 
one  thing ; and  we  are  to  unite  with  it  as  one.  But  as 
it  is  the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  embracing  the  infinite 
variety  of  the  Godhead,  we  cannot  unite  with  God  in 
the  simplicity  and  unity  of  the  will,  without  being  virtu- 
ally united  with  him  in  the  infinite  multiplicity  of  his 
knowledge  and  affection. 

5.  If  these  views  are  correct,  which,  in  binding  us  to 
the  will  of  God,  bind  us  to  the  whole  of  God,  we  not 
only  see  how  much  is  involved  in  an  union  with  the 
divine  will,  but  how  fearfully  hazardous  it  is  to  indulge 
in  the  slightest  deviation  from  that  will  when  it  is  once 
ascertained.  No  direction  is  more  important  than  that 
which  requires  us  to  labor  and  pray  for  harmony  with 
God  in  this  respect.  The  other  unions  which  have  been 
mentioned,  important  and  indispensable  as  they  are, 
may  be  regarded  as  preparatory  to  this.  The  union  of 


144 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  human  and  divine  wills  is  the  consummation  of 
those  which  have  gone  before.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  the  Saviour  so  frequently  refers  to  this 
form  of  union.  “ My  meat,”  he'says,  “ is  to  do  the  will 
of  him  that  sentme,^^^  And  again  he  says,  “I  came 
down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  hut  the  will 
of  him  that  sent  me.”  He  that  doeth  the  will  of  God,” 

says  the  apostle  John,  “abideth  forever.”  f 

* John  4 54  ; 6 : 38.  f First  Epis.  of  John  2 : 17. 


\ 


CHAPTER  II. 


ON  THE  PERPETUAL  IDENTITY  OF  THE  DIVINE  WILL. 

God  never  discordant  with  himself,  and  hence  his  will  always  the 
same.  — Views  of  philosophers  on  this  subject  not  really,  but  only 
apparently,  different  from  the  views  commonly  taken.  — Consolations 
of  this  doctrine. 

There  are  some  aspects  of  the  subject  now  before  us, 
which  cannot  be  fully  appreciated  without  keeping  in 
mind  the  fact  of  the  perpetual  identity  of  the  divine 
will. 

God  cannot  be  discordant  with  himself.  That  iden- 
tity of  nature,  which  is  involved  in  the  fact  of  his 
perfection,  is  only  another  name  for  unchangeable  har- 
mony. What  now  is,  harmonizes  with  what  has  been  ; 
— and  what  shaU  be  harmonizes  with  what  now  is. 
The  end  of  God,  therefore,  if  we  may  be  allowed  the 
expression,  is  identical  with  the  beginning ; and  every- 
thing which  is  intermediate  corresponds  with  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end. 

And  this  is  as  true  of  God’s  will  as  it  is  of  any  other  part 
of  his  nature.  What  God  thinks  to-day  he  thought 
always,  and  what  God  feels  to-day  he  felt  always.  He 
knew  what  was  to  be  before  it  had  a being.  He  rejoiced 
and  had  sorrow  in  its  good  and  evil,  before  that  good  and 
evil  had  an  existence.  And  it  is  the  same  of  his  will. 
What  God  wills  to-day,  he  willed  yesterday ; what  he 
13 


146 


DIVINE  UNION. 


shall  will  a thousand  years  hence,  he  has  already  willed 
a thousand  years  ago. 

2.  It  is  a great  truth,  therefore, — a truth  fundamental 
and  essential  in  religion,  that  the  operations  or  decisions 
of  the  divine  will  can  never  be  otherwise  than  they  are. 
The  laws  which  oyginate  them  have  their  basis  in  the 
eternal  mind,  and  are  inflexible  in  their  results.  It  is 
thus,  for  this  reason  and  in  this  manner,  that  the  divine 
will  may  be  said  to  be  perpetually  identical.  God  can^ 
not  feel  otherwise  than  he  does,  nor  think  otherwise 
than  he  does,  nor  will  otherwise  than  he  does.  And 
the  reason  is,  because  he  is  God;  and,  being  God,  he  is 
not  and  cannot  be  anything  less  or  otherwise  than  God. 

If  any  other  course  of  thought,  feeling,  willing,  or 
action,  were  right  and  proper  for  him,  it  would  be  an 
obvious  implication  that  his  present  course  is  not  right, 
is  not  proper.  Imperfection,  which  shows  itself  in 
taking  a course  less  right  and  less  proper  than  another 
course,  would,  in  that  case,  be  stamped  upon  it  and  upon 
the  author  of  it.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that 
God  and  imperfection  are  ideas  which  are  incompatible 
with  each  other. 

3.  It  is  true,  that  the  statement  of  the  absolute  verity 
on  this  subject  is  not  precisely  the  statement  of  the  truths 
or  verity,  as  it  is  developed  to  man’s  outward  percep- 
tion. The  statement  of  the  absolute  truth  is  what  phil- 
osophical writers  sometimes  denominate  super  sensuous^ 
the  statement  of  the  thing  as  it  is;  the  other  statement 
is  subordinate  and  accommodated  to  the  senses,  the 
statement  of  the  thing  as  it  appears.  The  one  state- 
ment is  the  expression  of  the  unchangeable  and  divine 
view ; the  other  of  the  human.  The  one  is  total,  the 
other  fragmentary.  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  incompat- 
ibility in  them.  They  agree  with  each  other,  as  the 


UNION  IN  WII.  L. 


147 


parts,  when  properly  adjusted,  agree  with  the  whole. 
The  statement,  accommodated  to  man’s  limited  percep- 
tion, would  be  simply  this.  Whatever  God  wills  now^ 
although  the  volition  may  not  have  taken  eifect  till  the 
present  moment,  he  has  virtually  willed  from  eternity. 
The  will,  virtual  or  potential,  that  is  to  say,  the  will  in 
its  capability  of  action,  the  will  ^‘in  posse,”  as  it  is 
sometimes  expressed, — -although  it  may  have  existed  mil- 
lions of  centuries  before  the  circumstances,  which  at  last 
surrounded  it,  developed  it  in  the  issues  of  specific 
action,  — is  the  same,  and  must  be  the  sarne,  as  the  will 
in  effective  exercise,  the  will  “ in  actu.”  It  had  in  itself 
from  the  beginning  a law,  which  involved  the'  result. 
In  other  words,  it  is  the  same  thing  under  a different 
aspect ; in  the  one  case  essential  but  undeveloped,  in  the 
other  essential,  but  in  exercise. 

4.  So  that,  in  either  case,  whether  we  take  the  super- 
sensuous  view,  or  the  view  which  is  accommodated  to  the 
imperfect  action  of  the  senses,  the  same  great  and  essen- 
tial truth  remains.  In  other  words,  the  mind  and  the 
acts  of  God,  including  his  will  and  his  vohtional  acts, 
whether  seen  in  their  fragmentary  form  through  the  suc- 
cessions of  time,  or  in  the  identicalness  of  that  mode  of 
vision  which  is  above  the  senses  and  above  time,  are 

without  variableness,,  and  without  shadow  of  turning P 
Here,  then,  is  an  identity,  not  more  sublime  in  its  nature 
than  its  continuance,  which  runs  parallel  with  eternity, 
and  is  sustained  by  the  same  principles  which  make  and 
sustain  God  himself.  ^ 

5.  The  perpetual  identity,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
the  immutability,  of  God’s  will  presents  a strong  contrast 
with  the  mutability  of  the  creature’s  will.  Man’s  will, 
(we  speak  now  of  the  natural  man,  or  the  man  out  of 
God,)  is  changeable.  By  separating  himself  from  God, 


148 


DIVINE  UNION. 


he  took  his  will,  which  is  hardly  less  than  another  name 
for  himself,  out  of  God’s  keeping,  and  placed  it  in  his 
own.  But  man  out  of  God  neither  knows,  nor  can 
know,  what  is  true,  nor  what  is  good,  nor  what  is  right, 
except  relatively  and  imperfectly.  The  absolute  truth, 
as  well  as  the  absolute  good  and  the  absolute  right,  is 
beyond  his  reach.  His  views  are  not  only  limited,  but 
perverted.  As  he  has  cut  himself  off  from  the  source  of 
truth,  the  truth  is  not  in  him,  except  imperfectly  and 
pervertedly ; and  he  is  floating  loosely  amid  a sea  of 
errors,  which  flows  out  from  the  falsity  of  his  own 
inward  position.  His  will,  therefore,  unmoored  as  it  is 
from  the  eternal  foundations,  is  fixed  to  no  object,  except 
to  himself;  and  as  self,  or  the  life  of  self,  has  no  centre 
but  in  its  own  selfishness,  it  wanders  about,  attracted 
by  every  object  which  promises  to  feed  its  depraved 
appetite,  and  seeking  a rest,  which,  in  the  rejection  of 
the  true  rest,  it  is  never  destined  to  find. 

6.  Such  is  the  changeableness  of  man’s  will  in  his 
unsanctified  state.  How  different  is  all  this  from  the 
true  and  unchangeable  foundations  of  God ; — and  how 
different  the  condition  of  the  unholy  man,  who  rests 
upon  himself,  from  that  of  the  man  who  is  united  with  ^ 
the  infinite  ! On  the  strong  rock  of  the  perpetual  identity 
of  the  divine  will,  and  not  on  the  uncertain  quicksands 
of  a will  which  is  liable  to  change,  the  holy  man  rests 
his  head  in  peace.  No  storms  terrify  him.  Knowing, 
as  he  does,  that  to  God  there  is  no  past  and  no  future, 
his  igul,  combining  the  past  and  the  future  into  one,  may 
be  said  to  be  centred  in  the  eternal  present.  To  Sense, 
indeed,  many  things  are  new.  To  Faith,  nothing  is  new. 

To  Sense,  many  things  are  strange,  unprecedented,  ter- 
rifying. There  are  storms,  diseases,  wars,  the  sky  in 
commotion  the  ea  :th  heaving,  nations  destroyed.  But 


UNION  IN  WILL.  149 

to  Faith,  whose  eye  penetrates  beneath  the  surface, 
there  is  only  what  was  designed  to  be;  the  development 
of  a will,  which,  in  being  invariably  true  to  mercy, 
wisdom,  and  justice,  never  changes  from  its  own  settled 
line  of  action,  but  is  identical  in  its  eternity.  These 
present  things,  which  occupy  and  perplex  the  senses, 
are  the  externalities  which  clothe  the  inward  life.  They 
may  be  described  as  the  “ veil  of  the  temple,”  within 
which  there  is  God  without  an  image^  unseen  by  that 
external  eye  which  can  see  only  the  form  of  things,  but 
visible  to  that  eye  of  Faith,  which,  beneath  all  outward 
forms,  sees,  and  knows,  and  loves  the  Eternal  Essence. 

13^ 


CHAPTER  III. 


ON  THE  NATURAL  AND  MORAL  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  DIVINE 

WILL. 

Explanations  of  the  natural  supremacy  of  the  divine  will.  — Explana- 
tions of  its  moral  supremacy. — Results  of  the  views  presented. — The 
law  of  right  requires  the  union  of  the  human  with  the  divine  will. 

There  is  a natural  supremacy  of  the  divine  will. 
There  is  a moral  supremacy  also.  In  natural  things,  it 
is  supreme  by  nature.  In  moral  things,  it  is  supreme 
by  right.  The  natural  supremacy,  which  presents  itself 
first  for  consideration,  is  fixed,  and  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  it  is.  It  is  the  supremacy  which  makes  and  orig- 
inates ; the  infinite  energy  concentred  in  the  one  infinite 
purpose,  overspreading  all,  consummating  all.  All 
things  which  exist,  so  far  as  the  mere  fact  of  being  is 
concerned,  have  their  existence,  both  in  its  origin  and  its 
continuance,  in  the  natural  supremacy  of  God’s  will.  In 
that  will,  all  trees  and  plants,  and  all  other  things  which 
are  produced  on  the  earth’s  surface,  have  their  life.  In 
that  will,  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars  live ; and  all 
things  and  beings  that  inhabit  them.  In  that  will,  all 
men,  and  all  animals  inferior  to  men,  in  all  their  vari- 
eties, have  their  origin  and  their  continued  support.  It 
is  a will  supreme^  because  everything  else  is  a depend- 
ency. 

This,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  said  in  connection  with  the 
physical  nature  of  things.  Over  all  things  in  their  phys- 
ical nature,  there  is  what  may  be  called  a natural  or 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


151 


physical  supremacy  of  the  divine  will,  which  transcends 
everything  because  it  is  the  source  of  everything. 

2.  There  is  also  a moral  supremacy  of  the  divine  will. 
God,  in  the  exercise  of  the  natural  supremacy  of  his  will, 
and  acting  under  the  direction  of  his  moral  nature,  cie- 
ated  beings  like  himself,  beings  having  a moral  nature. 
In  doing  this,  he  gave  them  the  power  to  do  as  they 
pleased ; that  is  to  say,  to  take  any  course  which  they 
might  choose  to  take  within  the  sphere  of  their  natural 
or  physical  capability.  But  in  giving  them  the  power 
thus  to  act,,  which  was  essential  to  them  as  moral  beings, 
he  did  not  give  them  the  right  He  could  not  do  it. 
As  a being  possessed  of.  all  power,  he  could  give  them 
the  power  to  do  what  they  pleased;  but,  as  a being 
possessed  of  all  holiness,  he  could  give  them  the  right  to 
do  only  what  was  right,  and  nothing  else.  ' Further 
than  this,  they  never  had  any  right,  nor  ever  can  have. 

3.  And  the  consequence  is,  that  all  moral  beings, 
whether  men  or  angels,  as  they  have  a right  to  do  only 
what  is  right,  have  no  right  to  dislocate  and  remove 
themselves  from  under  the  divine  will.  The  liberty  they 
have  of  doing  as  they  please  undoubtedly  gives  them 
the  power  or  enables  them  to  do  it ; but  the  law  of  right, 
which  prescribes  in  what  manner  their  capability  is  to 
be  exercised,  forbids  it.  If  it  is  not  right  for  them  to 
remove  from  under  God’s  will,  then  it  is  their  duty  to 
remain  under  it.  As  moral  beings,  they  cannot  do  oth- 
erwise without  a violation  of  morals.  God’s  will  is 
supreme  over  them  physically  or  naturally,  because  their 
natural  or  physical  life  is  wholly  dependent  upon  it.  It 
is  supreme  over  them  morally,  because  they  cannot 
abdicate  its  supremacy  without  doing  a wrong.  The 
supremacy  is  secured  in  the  one  case  by  a physical 
necessity;  in  the  other,  by  a moral  necessity.  The 


152 


DIVINE  UNION. 


physical  law  subjects  them  to  God  as  physical  men ; the 
moral  law  subjects  them  to  God  as  moral  men. 

4.  Accordingly,  if  we  carry  these  principles  into  par- 
ticulars, we  shall  find  that,  in  no  case  whatever,  can  we 
separate  ourselves  from  God  rightly.  In  union  alone, 
that  union  which  is  appropriate  to  the  relation  of  supe- 
rior and  inferior,  is  there  true  life.  And  here,  living, 
not  by  what  we  have  originally,  but  by  what  is  moment- 
arily given  us,  if  we  need  strength,  the  law  of  morals 
requires  us  to  look  for  it  where  we  can  best  obtain  it. 
If  we  need  wisdom,  we  cannot,  without  a violation  of 
duty,  seek  it  where  it  is  not  to  be  had,  but  must  go  to 
him,  who  alone  has  true  wisdom.  If  we  need  love, 
which,  more  than  anything  else,  is  the  true  inspiration 
of  tho-soul,  we  must  go  to  him,  who,  in  being  himself 
LOVE,  can  supply  us  from  the  original  fountain.  And 
so  in  every  other  case.  If  it  be  true,  as  the  apostle 
James  asserts,  that  every  good  gift,  and  every  perfect 
gift,  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father 
of  lights,”  then  we  can  have  nothing  good  which  does 
not  come  from  him.  And,  as  the  law  of  duty  requires 
us  to  seek  good  in  preference  to  evil,  and  as  we  can  find 
the  true  good  in  God  alone,  it  is  not  possible  for  us,  in 
doing  what  we  ought  to  do,  to  take  any  other  position 
than  that  of  humble  recipients.  And  in  that  position, 
bound  to  submit  to  a higher  guidance  if  that  guidance 
will  be  best  for  us,  God’s  will  becomes  morally  supreme 
over  us,  and  we  can  neither  be  in  the  right  nor  the  good, 
except  so  far  as  we  are  in  harmony  with  that  blessed 
will. 


CHAPTER  IV^. 


ON  THE  UNION  OF  THE  HUMAN  AND  DIVINE  WILL. 

Difference  between  union  of  the  will  and  extinction  of  the  will. 
— Evils  of  a separation  of  wills.  — The  will  always  acts.  — Meth- 
ods by  which  we  determine  the  union  of  wills.  — Of  prayer  and 
faith  in  connection  with  union  of  moral  and  affectional  union.  — 
True  idea  of  the  death  of  the  will. 

Union  of  the  human  will  with  the  divine  is  a different 
thing  from  an  extinction  of  the  human  will.  A will,  a 
proper  and  effective  will,  is  essential  to  humanity.  Man, 
without  a will,  ceases  to  he  man.  The  perfection  of 
man’s  nature  does  not  consist  in  the  extinction  of  his 
will,  but  in  its  union  with  God’s  will. 

2.  The  truly  holy  person,  therefore,  ought  to  be  able 
to  say  specifically,  at  all  times,  that  he  wills  as  God  wills. 
It  is  due  both  to  his  happiness  and  his  safety  to  be  able 
to  know,  and  on  proper  occasions  to  assert,  the  union  of 
the  two  wills.  If  there  is  a separation  of  wills,  even  if 
it  be  a slight  one,  there  will  be  likely  to  be  something 
out  of  position  somewhere  else.  A separation  of  wills  is 
a separation  of  natures.  As  the  will  is,  so  is  the  man, 
either /or  God  or  against  him.  It  is  as  true  in  philos- 
ophy as  religion,  that  it  is  impossible  to  serve  God  and 
Mammon  at  the  same  time. 

3.  It  may  be  asked,  perhaps,  what  view  are  we  to 
take  of  ourselves  when  we  do  not  will  at  all  7 The  an- 
swer to  such  a question  is  not  difficult,  because  we  can 
hardly  ever  be  said  to  be  in  that  state.  Our  whole  life, 


154 


DIVINE  UNION. 


with  the  exception  of  purely  involuntary  states,  may  be 
represented  by  two  terms,  action  and  inaction.  Neither 
of  these  states  can  exist  without  volition  as  its  basis.  If 
we  act,  we  will  to  act;  if  we  are  in  a state  of  inac- 
tion, we  will  not  to  act.  Whatever  state  we  are  in 
as  moral  agents,  and  not  as  mere  involuntary  agents, 
whether  it  be  characterized  as  action  or  inaction,  we 
will  to  be  in  it.  So  that  we  may,  without  impro- 
priety, speak  of  the  action  of  the  will  as  perpetual. 
Perpetual  action  implies  the  obligation  of  perpetual 
harmony. 

4.  In  order  to  determine  whether  our  wills  are  in  har- 
mony with  the  divine  will,  it  is  not  necessary  nor  best^ 
as  a general  thing,  to  look  at  the  will  itself,  and  to 
exami»e  its  action  as  it  comes  under  our  notice  inde- 
pendently of  the  influences  which  surround  it.  When 
certain  conditions  are  fulfilled,  certain  results  may  be 
expected  to  follow. 

And,  accordingly,  we  may  anticipate  that  our  wills 
will  be  iri*  harmony  with  the  divine  will  when  we  are  in 
the  habit  of  asking  God  for  a divine  direction  of  our 
wills.  There  can  be  no  union  with  God  without  prayer. 
We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  prayer,  which,  if  it  be 
a true  prayer,  always  implies  a state  of  sincere  and 
entire  consecration,  must  always  be  formal;  but  there 
must  always  be  an  inward  disposition,  which  constantly 
recognizes  the  souf  s dependence  u^on  God,  and  which 
as  constantly  looks  for  his  aid.  To  such  a soul,  if  it 
has  faith  corresponding  to  its  desires,  God  will  not  fail 
to  grant  his  assistance.  When  we  feel  that  we  have 
strength  from  God,  by  feeling  that  we  have  an  accepted 
communion  with  him,  then  we  may  have  hope  that  we 
shall  and  do  will  on.y  what  God  wills. 

6.  But,  in  order  to  understand  the  subject  fully,  it 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


155 


should  be  added,  that  there  are  two  forms  of  union  of 
the  will ; — namely,  moral  union,  and  affectional  union. 
It  is  the  combination  of  the  two,  uniting  the  outward 
act,  or  the  thing  done,  with  the  motive  of  doing  it,  which 
constitutes  perfect  or  holy  union. 

Moral  union  of  the  will  exists  when  the  will  is  united 
with  God  by  means  of  moral  enforcement  merely,  that 
is  to  say,  under  the  constraints  of  moral  obligation,  with- 
out the  consenting  and  affectionate  concurrence  of  the 
heart.  Such  an  union,  which  can  exist  only  in  respect 
to  outward  acts,  makes  what  the  world  calls  a moral 
man,  but  not  a religious  one.  When  a man  does  what 
God  commands,  — in  other  words,  does  what  is  right  in 
action^  but  does  it  in  opposition  to  his  own  selfish  desires, 
— he  is  in  union  with  God,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  mor- 
ally^ or  in  the  outward  manner,  but  not  affectionally^  or 
in  the  inward  disposition.  He  is  a man  divided  ; partly 
for  God,  and  partly  against  him.  His  conscience  is  right, 
but  his  heart  is  wrong.  In  the  language  of  the  apostle 
Paul,  he  does  that  which  he  hates  to  do  ; he  does  good, 
but  evil  is  present  with  him.’’ 

Some  would,  perhaps,  say,  that  a union  so  imperfect 
as  this,  including  only  a part  of  our  nature,  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  union  in  any  proper  sense  of  the  term.  But 
looking  at  the  subject  psychologically,  that  is  to  say,  in 
reference  to  the  nature  of  the  mind,  it  is  obviously  a 
positive  or  real  unioft  as  far  as  it  goes.  Undoubtedly  it 
is  imperfect.  It  has  not  that  full  and  broad  basis  which 
it  might  have,  and  which  it  ought  to  have.  But  still  it 
is  something,  and  especially  because  it  involves  that  con- 
viction of  mind  which  is  likely  to  lead  to  something  else 
better.  He  who  observes  the  Sabbath,  not  because  he 
loves  to  observe  it,  but  because  his  conscience  requires 
it,  is  in  a more  favorable  condition  than  he  who  has 


156 


DIVINE  UNION. 


neither  conscience  nor  love.  But  if  something  is  done, 
it  is  still  certain  that  the  most  important  part  remains  to 
be  done. 

6.  The  union  of  the  will,  which  has  just  been  de- 
scribed, becomes  consolidated  and  perfect  when  we  add 
the  concurrence  of  the  affections  to  the  supports  of  the 
moral  sense.  It  is  this  union  which  we  have  denom- 
inated affectional.  In  order,  therefore,  to  that  union  of 
the  will  with  God  which  is  requisite  in  the  highest  state 
of  religious  experience,  the  action  of  the  will,  in  harmo- 
nizing with  God’s  will,  must  rest  upon  the  twofold  basis 
q£  the  appi'obation  of  the  conscience  and  of  the  love  of  the 
heart.  In  any  other  state  of  the  mind,  the  union  of  the 
will  with  God  is  more  or  less  obstructed  and  enfeebled. 
When,  in  connection  with  the  moral  union,  the  obstruc- 
tion of  all  discordant  tendencies  and  desires  is  out  of  the 
way,  and  the  affections  are  in  the  right  direction,  the 
union  is  such  as  it  should  be.  Of  a will  thus  united 
with  God,  it  may  be  said,  with  almost  literal  truth, 
that  it  is  the  subject  of  a new  creation,  and  has  a new 
life. 

7.  But  then  comes  up  the  great  question  again.  How 
can  we  obtain  this  basis  of  love  ? How  can  we  be  made 
to  possess  that  which  we  are  not  possessed  of,  by  being 
made  to  love  that  which  we  do  not  love  ? Especially 
as  love,  in  that  higher  sense  of  the  term  which  has  been 
explained,  is  not  human,  but  divine  ; not  a thing  created, 
but  eternal.  The  answer  is,  that  God,  in  being  a benev- 
olent existence,  necessarily  loves  to  dispense  his  own 
nature,  to  enter  into  all  hearts  where  there  is  a possibil- 
ity of  entrance,  to  pour  out  everywhere  the  radiance  of 
his  own  brightness.  What  we  have  to  do,  then,  is  first 
wO  be  emptied,  in  order  that  we  may  be  filled ; first  to 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


157 


cease  from  self,  that  we  may  3e  recipients  of  that  which 
is  not  self. 

But  how  can  we  do  this?  Or  how  can  we  learn  to 
do  it  ? Daily,  O man,  is  the  Providence  of  God  teach- 
ing thee,  by  perplexing  human  wisdom,  by  disappoint- 
ing human  elfforts,  and  by  showing,  in  a thousand  ways, 
the  blindness,  the  weakness,  and  the  iniquity  of  selfish- 
ness. It  is  for  this  that  thou  art  smitten.  Sorrow  is 
thy  teacher.  It  is  a hard  lesson  to  learn,  but  still  a 
necessary  one,  that  a life  out  of  the  divine  life  is  not 
life,  but  that  the  true  life  is  from  God.  Our  heav- 
enly Father,  in  the  infinite  fulness  of  his  nature,  will 
pour  out  upon  us  the  principle  of  holy  love,  as  soon 
as  we  are  ready  to  relinquish  the  opposing  principle  of 
self 

8.  In  connection  with  what  has  now  been  said,  we  shall 
be  able  to  form  a true  idea  of  what  is  sometimes  denom- 
inated the  death  of  the  will. 

Properly  speaking,  or  perhaps  we  should  rather  say, 
in  this  case,  'psychologically  speaking,  man’s  will  can 
never  die.  A will  is  essential  to  man’s  nature,  as  it  is 
to  the  nature  of  every  moral  being.  We  repeat,  man 
without  a will,  ceases  to  be  man. 

When,  therefore,  in  examining  the  topics  connected 
with  rdigious  experience,  we  speak  of  the  death  of  the 
human  will,  we  mean  the  human  tjvill  considered  in  its 
action  and  its  tendency  to  action,  out  of  the  divine  order. 
It  is  the  human  will  divergent,^  — resting  in  the  origin 
• of  its  movement  on  the  limited  and  depraved  basis  of 
personal  interest^  and  out  of  harmony  with  the  will  of 
God. 

9.  In  the  sense  which  has  just  been  given,  the  human 
will,  before  it  can  have  a higher  and  divine  life,  not  only 
may  die,  but  must  die.  Its  death  is  not  only  possible  tut 

14 


158 


DIVINE  UNION. 


necessary.  In  its  present  life,  if  we  may  so  express  it, 
it  has  its  principle  of  movement  in  motives  which  God 
cannot  respect  and  approve;  but,  on  the  contrary,  he 
disapproves  and  condemns  them  as  inconsistent  with 
the  highest  good  of  the  universe.  From  such  a will  he 
is  necessarily  excluded. 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  there  should  be  any 
mitigation  of  its  sentence ; any  pity  or  compromise  what- 
ever with  its  natural  life.  The  hand  of  God  himself, 
through  the  working  of  his  unerring  providences,  nails 
it  to  the  cross.  It  may  exhibit  much  resistance ; it  may 
experience  a painful  and  lingering  death  ; with  the  nails 
driven  through  its  hands  and  feet,  it  may  plead  that  its 
bones  may  not  be  broken,  and  that  its  side  may  not  be 
pierced;  but  no  attention  can,  or  ought  to  be  given  to  its 
supplications. 

10.  The  death  of  the  will  (that  is  to  say,  its  death  to 
the  selfishness  of  nature)  is  the  antecedent  of  its  resur- 
rection to  holiness.  In  its  resurrection  love  takes  the 
place  of  selfishness.  The  will  can  no  more  be  born  into 
its  new  and  divine  life,  and  expand  and  flourish  in  its  new 
beauty  and  maturity  of  love,  before  the  extinction  and 
death  of  its  natural  life  of  selfishness,  than  the  spiritual 
body  of  the  resurrection,  adorned  with  immortal  beauty, 
can  come  into  existence  before  the  death  of  the  natural 
body.  That  whick  thou  sowest,’’  says  the  apostle  Paul, 
speaking  of  wheat  and  other  grains,  ^4s  not  quickened 
except  it  dieP  So  also,”  he  adds,  is  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  * 
incorruption.  It  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in 
glory..  It  is  sown  a natural  body,  it  is  raised  a spiritual 
body.” 

And  these  expressions,  applied  to  the  resurrection  of 
the  body,  are  applicable  to  the  death  and  resuTrection 


UNION-  IN  WILL. 


159 


of  the  will.  If  it  dies  to  all  that  is  the  opposite  of  God, 
it  is  made  alive  to  all  that  has  God  in  it.  Dishonored 
and  corrupted  in  its  selfish  nature,  it  perishes  ^and  is 
thrown  lifeless  into  its  burial  place,  until  the  spirit  of 
God,  brooding  over  and  operating  in  its  ruins,  brings  life 
out  of  death,  and  glory  out  of  shame. 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON  THE  DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  UNION  WITH  THE  WILL  OP 

GOD. 

Union  of  submission.  — Illustrations.  — Union  accompanied  with  joy. 

— A third  and  higher  form  of  union.  — Instances. 

There  are  different  degrees  of  union  with  the  Divine 
Will,  some  of  which  it  may  be  proper  to  notice  and  dis- 
criminate. 

The  first  degree  may  be  described  as  union  with  the 
divine  will  in  submission.  Submission  is  a relative 
term,  and  always  implies,  when  employed  in  a religious 
sense,  a reference  to  a divine  arrangement  or  order  of 
things.  It  is  acquiescence  in,  or  conformity  to,  such 
arrangement ; and  is,  consequently,  the  opposite  of  rebel- 
lion. Accordingly,  it  may  always  be,  said,  when  there 
is  no  element  of  positive  resistance,  no  actual  rebellious 
movement  against  the  order  of  things,  that  there  is  sub- 
mission to  it.  And  this  can  be  said  without  impropriety 
and  with  entire  truth,  even  if  it  should  be  the  case  that 
the  submissive  state  borders  so  closely  on  the  line  of 
resistance  as  to  require  all  our  powers  of  thought  and  of 
the  will  to  kq^p  it  where  it  is. 

2.  Illustrations  of  this  state  of  mind  are  very  frequent 
Occasion  is  furnished  for  them  by  events  which  are  con- 
stantly taking  place,  — such  as  the  loss  of  property  and 
reputation,  and  the  experience  of  physical  sufierings, 
either  by  ourselves,  or  by  those  who  are  dear  to  us.  If 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


161 


tiiose,  who  are  the  subjects  of  these  trials,  are  truly  sub- 
missive, their  minds  are  brought  by  divine  grace  into 
such  a position,  that  there  is  actually  no  resistance,  no 
rebellious  movement,  of  the  heart.  And  this  is  so  much 
the  case,  that  we  can  probably  say  of  them,  that  their 
wills  are  in  union  with  the  divine  will. 

And  still  their  own  consciousness  tells  them,  even  if 
it  is  not  obvious  to  the  observation  of  others,  that  it  is 
the  union  of  simple  acquiescence  rather  than  of  positive 
desire ; the  union  of  submission  to  suffering  rather  than 
of  love  to  suffering.  The  fact  of  obedience,  however 
sincere  and  true  the  obedience  itself  may  be,  does  not 
prevent  their  saying  with  equal  truth,  that  it  is  hard  for 
nature  to  yield  it.  The  tears  flow,  even  when  the 
heart  does  not  murmur.  There  is  submission  in  fact^ 
but  a submission  which  costs  a struggle  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  watchfulness  and  struggles  in  the  maintenance 
of  it. 

3.  The  second  degree  may  be  described  as  union  with 
the  divine  will  with  choice.  That  is  to  say,  we  not  only 
submit,  but  submission  is  our  pleasure,  our  delight. 
The  endurance  of  loss  and  suffering  is  not,  and  cannot 
ordinarily  be,  so  great  as  to  prevent  a true  and  substan- 
tial joy  of  the  heart.  It  is  said  of  the  early  Christians, 
not  merely  that  they  submitted  to  suffering  with  pa- 
tience, but  that  they  rejoiced  that  they  were  accounted 
worthy  to  suffer  for  the  name  of  Jesus.^  It  ought,  per- 
haps, to  be  added,  that  persons  in  this  state  are  not 
insensible  to  sufferings.  On  the  contrary,  they  feel  them ; 
probably  as  much  so  as  others.  But  while  they  submit 
to  them  by  enduring  them  with  entire  patience,  they 
also,  in  the  exercise  of  a full  and  victorious  faith,  rejoice 


14^ 


* Luke  5 : 41. 


162 


DIVINE  UNION. 


in  them  as  expressions  of  the  divine  will.  They  have 
learned  to  love  the  cross,  as  well  as  to  bear  it. 

4.  This  last  state  of  mind  may  assume  a new  charac- 

ter, and  may  present  the  union  of  the  will  in  a new 
aspect,  by  becoming  invigorated  and  perfected  hy  habit. 
It  may  ultimately  become  so  well  established  and  strong 
that  the  effect  of  antecedent  evil  habits,  which  generally 
remains  for  a long  time,  and  greatly  perplexes  the  full 
sway  of  holiness  in  the  heart,  shall  be  done  away  en- 
tirely. And  this  is  not  all.  In  the  course  of  time,  our 
perceptions  of  the  transcendent  beauty  and  excellence  of 
the  will  of  God  may  become  so  increased  in  clearness 
and  strength,  that  the  pleasure  of  doing  and  suffering 
his  will,  increased  in  the  same  proportion,  may  entirely 
absorb  and  take  away  our  sense  of  suffering.  The  suf- 
fering will  be  lost  in  the^  joy.  Death,”  a name  which 

includes  all  temporal  evil,  “ will  be  swallowed  up  in 
victory.” 

5.  It  was  thus,  in  the  experience  of  this  higher  degree 
of  volitional  union,  that  Paul  and  Silas  sung  songs  in 
prison.  It  was  thus  that  martyrs  of  every  age  have 
illustrated  the  stake  and  the  cross  with  their  triumphs. 
It  was  thus  that  Jesus  Christ,  though  a man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief,  endured  the  cross,  despised 
the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God.” 
Het.  22 : 2. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ON  T.IAINING  THE  WILL  TO  HABITS  OF  SUBJECTION. 

Necessity  cf  personal  elFort.  — We  should  yield  our  wills  to  others 
in  matters  indifferent.  — Extract  from  Antonia  Bourignon.  Re- 
marks on  the  directions  given  by  the  Saviour.  — On  submission 
to  natural  events. 

The  closing  remarks  of  the  last  chapter  naturally  lead 
113  to  a subject  of  no  small  practical  importance,  that  of 
training  the  will  to  habits  of  subjection.  It  is  not  only 
necessary  that  our  feelings  and  purposes  should,  by 
divine  aid,  be  brought  back  to  a right  position,  but  that 
the  mysterious  and  powerful  influence  of  former  evil 
habits  should  be  entirely  annulled.  And  this  result  is 
the  more  likely  to  be  secured,  if  we  unite  the  concur- 
rence of  our  own  efforts  with  the  operations  of  divine 
grace. 

2.  A favorable  effect  will  oftentimes  be  experienced 
in  this  particular,  if  we  adopt  the  prlictice,  in  things 
which  are  indifferent,  of  subjecting  our  desires  and  our 
will  to  the  will  of  others.  In  other  words,  our  wills 
will  be  the  more  easily  placed  beyond  the  influence  of 
former  evil  habits,  and  brought  into  undisturbed , har- 
mony with  God,  if  we  keep  them  in  subjection  in  our 
intercourse  with  men.  Occasions  of  a conflict  of  will, 
m matters  of  mere  convenience,  and  which  involve  no 
moral  principle,  occur  constantly.  In  such  cases,  in  the 
prospect  We  have  before  us  of  an  improvement  in  our 
spiritual  characters,  we  should  make  it  a rule  to  give  a 


164 


DIVINE  UNION. 


precedence  to  the  desires  and  purposes  of  others  over  our 
own. 

There  is  nothing  more  sweet/^  says  Antonia  Bou- 
rignon,  in  speaking  on  this  subject,  and  which  brings 
more  rest  to  the  body  and  the  soul,  than  obedience  and 
submission  to  another  in  good  things.  Yea,  obedience 
in  itself  is  always  profitable  to  our  perfection,  though  it 
were  yielded  even  to  imperfect  persons,  'provided  they 
command  nothing  that  is  evil.  For,  by  submitting  to 
another  in  indifferent  things,  one  always  overcomes  the 
corruptions  of  his  nature,  and  denies  himself.^  as  Christ, 
in  Mark  8 : 34,  has  taught  us  to  do.”  ^ 

3.  This  reference  to  the  instructions  of  the  Saviour 
leads  us  to  remark,  that  his  directions  will  be  found,  on 
a careful  examination,  to  harmonize  in  a wonderful 
manner  with  the  tendencies  and  operations  of  the  human 
mind.  Under  their  wonderful  simplicity,  great  insight 
and  true  wisdom,  (estimating  them  even  on  human 
principles,)  will  be  discovered  to  be  hidden.  “ Whoso- 
ever,” the  Saviour  says  in  the  passage  just  referred  to, 
“ will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself^  and  take  up 
the  cross,  and  follow  me.”  This  command,  which  of 
course  applies  to  the  will  as  well  as  other  things,  is  uni- 
versal. It  impHes,  if  we  must  deny  ourselves  in  great 
things,  we  must  deny  ourselves  also  in  those  which  are 
small.  Such  are  the  laws  of  the  human  mind,  that 
indulgence  in  the  latter  will  take  away  our  strength, 
and  deprive  us  of  victory  in  the  former.  Deny  thyself, 
therefore,  in  small  things;  subject  thy  will,  in  matters 
of  minor  importance,  that  thou  mayest  have  power  to 
conquer  in  things  which  are  more  difficult. 

4.  We  should  deny  ourselves,  and  bring  our  wills  into 


* Letters  of  Antonia  Bourignon,  pp.  72,  73. 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


165 


subjection,  even  in  good  things.  It  is  naturally  e^^pected 
of  the  Christian,  that  he  will  have  in  hand  many  little 
designs  and  purposes  of  good  in  behalf  of  his  neighbor. 
This  is  well,  but  evil  will  come  of  it,  if,  in  connection 
with  his  good  designs,  he  indulge  in  strong  and  precip- 
itate desires  in  bringing  them  to  pass.  His  will,  by 
being  brought  into  harmony  with  Providence,  must  be 
subjected  here  as  elsewhere. 

And  here  we  take  occasion  to  mention  a case  a 
little  different  from  those  hitherto  referred  to,  where 
some  of  these  remarks  will  apply  well.  It  is  often  the 
case,  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  and  affairs  of  life,  that 
our  actions,  without  being  calumniated  as  criminal,  are 
more  or  less  misrepresented,  and  our  motives  aspersed 
by  thoughtless  or  evil-disposed  persons.  Undoubtedly 
the  natural  tendency  of  the  heart,  under  such  circum- 
stances, is  to  reply  at  once,  and  generally  with  as  much 
energy  as  promptness.  But,  generally  speaking,  our 
true  victory  will  be  in  silence.  Nature  speaks,  but  grace 
is  silent ; because  nature  is  destitute  of  confidence,  ex- 
cept in  itself,  but  grace  has  confidence  in  God.  To  be 
silent,  therefore,  in  ordinary  cases,  is  best  in  every 
resgect ; not  only  because  it  is  the  course  indicated  by 
true  religion,  but  because  it  aids  in  breaking  down  the 
irregular  and  sinful  action  of  the  will. 

5.  And  while  we  should  thus,  so  far  as  can  be  done 
consistently  with  moral  principle,  subject  our  purposes 
to  the  wishes  and  purposes  of  others,  we  should  also, 
and  with  the  same  general  object,  and  certainly  with  no 
less  reason,  keep  our  wills  in  subjection  to  natural  events. 
Such  events  are  from  God ; and,  in  no  case,  should  the 
human  will  set  itself  in  opposition  to  them,  whether  they 
seem  to  be  of  greater  or  less  consequence.  How  often 
are ’expression  s of  dissatisfaction  and  regret  heard  to  fall 


166 


DIVINE  UNION. 


even  from  those  who  have  the  reputation  of  being  Chris- 
tians, in  view  of  natural  events,  which  no  one  thinks 
of  controlling.  To  one,  the  weather  is  too  warm;  to 
another,  it  is.  too  cold.  To  one,  there  is  too  little  rain ; 
to  another,  too  little  sunshine.  They  thus  wickedly 
unsettle  the  quiet  of  the  spirit  by  forgetting  that  both 
the  rain  and  the  sunshine  and  all  other  natural  things 
are  God’s ; that  they  are  all  indications  of  "the  divine 
goodness,  though  given  in  different  degrees ; and  that 
neither  regrets  nor  wishes  can  make  them  otherwise 
than  they  are.  It  is  important  to  check  the  rising  feel- 
ing in  all  such  cases;  and,  by  a cheerful  acquiescence,  to 
harmonize  the  heart  and  the  will  with  the  arrangements 
of  Providence. 

And  these  views  are  the  more  important  and  urgent 
when  we  consider  that  sin,  here  and  elsewhere,  is  meas- 
ured, not  so  much  by  the  occasion  on  which  it  exists,  as 
by  the  spirit  which  is  manifested  in  it.  It  may  utter 
itself  in  a loud  and  fierce  voice,  or  gently  breathe  itself 
out  in  the  slightest  wish,  tha  t the  state  of  things  were 
otherwise  than  it  is.  But  in  the  latter  case,  as  well  as 
in  the  former,  there  is  the  element  of  rebellion;  some- 
thing, no  matter  how  small  it  may  be,  which  is  ng^  in 
entire  harmony  with  God  and  the  divine  arrangements. 
In  a word,  there  is  sin.  But  this  is  not  all.  It  is  sin 
laying  the  foundation  for  other  and  higher  sin.  On  the 
other  hand,  a cheerful  acquiescence,  in  such  cases  as 
have  been  mentioned,  is  not  only  right  in  itself,  but,  by 
purifying  the  tendencies  of  the  will,  is  laying  the  foun- 
dation for  a better  state  of  things  in  other  cases  of  greater 
difficulty  in  all  coming  time. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON  THE  RELATION  OF  SUFFERING  TO  DIVINE  UNION. 

Of  the  connection  between  suffering  and  holiness.  — The  separation 
from  objects  of  unholy  desire  necessarily  involves  suffering.  — When 
separated  from  such  objects,  man  is  led  to  seek  God.  — Suffering  to 
be  regarded  as  a spiritual  privilege.  — Reasons  for  this  view. — 
Dyonysius  the  Areopagite.  — Explanation  of  the  divine  darkness.’’ 

The  way  of  those  who  truly  and  deeply  believe,  like 
that  trodden  by  the  divine  Master  in  whom  they  have 
trusted,  is  a path  of  trial.  ‘^Whosoever,’’  says  the 
Saviour,  doth  not  bear  his  cross  and  come  after  me, 
cannot  be  my  disciple.”^  The  most  eminent  Christians 
have,  as  a general  thing,  been  called  to  pass  through 
the  greatest  sufferings.  Infinite  wisdom,  which  explains 
the  means  it  uses  by  the  results  that  follow,  has  seen  fit 
to  connect  their  sufferings  with  their  sanctification.  God 
has  seen  it  to  be  necessary  that  they  should  suffer,  not 
only  for  the  good  of  others,  which  they  could  easily 
understand,  but  also  for  their  own  good,  the  reasons  of 
which  it  was  the  more  difficult  to  see.  A few  remarks 
will  explain,  in  part,  the  nature  of  this  necessity. 

2.  A heart  unsanctijied^  which  is  the  same  thing  as  a 
heart  not  united  with  God,  is  a heart  which  has  become 
disordered  both  in  its  faith  and  in  its  attachments.  Its 
desires,  in  consequence  of  its  faith  being  wrongly  placed, 

*Luke  14:  27. 


168 


DIVINE  UNION. 


are  separated  from  their  true  centre;  and,  consequently, 
are  either  given  to  wrong  objects,  or,  by  being  inordi- 
nate, exist  in  a \vrong  degree.  The  sanctification  of  the 
heart  is  its  restoration  from  this  wrong  state.  And  this 
is  done  by  a course  the  reverse  of  that  which  sin  has 
previously  prompted  it  to  take,  namely,  by  the  substitu- 
tion of  a right  faith  for  a wrong  one;  by  taking  the 
desires  from  wrong  objects,  and  by  suppressing  all  their 
inordinate  action.  But  this  is  a process  which  is  not 
ordinarily  gone  through  without  much  suffering. 

3.  The  faith  and  desires  of  the  man  who  is  disunited 
from  God,  are  necessarily  placed  upon  himself,  includ- 
ing in  himself  those  things  which  he  claims  and  rests  in 
as  his  own,  A man,  for  instance,  has  faith  in  his  riches, 
in  the  lands  he  has  purchased,  and  the  houses  he  has 
built.  His  affections  naturally  follow  in  the  channel  of 
his  faith ; and  he  loves  Avhat  he  believes  in.  His  pos- 
sessions become  his  God.  In  what  way  can  this  bond 
of  unholy  union  be  sundered ']  It  is  by  destroying,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  objects  to  which  this  wrong  confi- 
dence and  these  wrong  affections  attach  themselves.  If 
the  objects  remain  in  their  strength  and  beauty,  and 
fulfil  all  the  purposes  which  are  expected  of  them,  how 
is  it  possible  to  destroy  confidence  and  attachment? 

I spake  unto  thee,”  says  God,  ^^in  thy  prosperity^  and 
thou  saidst  I will  not  hear.”  And  accordingly,  he  is 
campelled,  as  it  were,  to  send  his  flood  and  fire,  his  pes- 
tilence and  famine.  Smitten  and  blasted  in  the  work 
of  his  hands,  man’s  faith  in  human  toil  and  acquisition 
at  last  fails;  and  he  exclaims,  with  the  wise  preacher  of 
the  Scriptures,  “ All  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.” 
It  is  then,  and  not  till  then,  that  he  is  ready  to  hear  and 
obey  the  voice  of  his  Maker. 


* Jerem.  21 : 21. 


UN  ION  IN  WILL. 


169 


4.  Again,  man  has  confidence  in  his  reputation.  With 
are  and  labor  he  has  established  a good  name,  which 

seems  to  him  a tower  of  strength.  His  love  corresponds 
to  his  faith ; and  he  loves  his  honor,  as  he  terms  it,  still 
more  than  his  wealth.  But  since  the  fall  of  man,  self- 
ishness, instead  of  holy  love,  has  become  the  basis  of 
humanity ; and  envy,  base,  malignant,  and  insidious, 
always  follows  in  the  track  of  fame.  God,  who  knows 
his  idol,  has  allowed  the  destroyer  to  cast  it  down. 
Before  he  is  aware  of  it,  his  good  name,  which  had  been 
secured  by  years  of  toil  and  care,  which  shone  high  and 
bright  as  the  sunbeam,  is  prostrated  in  the  dust.  His 
tears  show  how  great  and  bitter  is  his  disappointment. 
From  that  hour,  ceasing  to  place  confidence  in  himself, 
he  can  say,  what  he  never  said  before : I called  upon 

the  Lord  in  distress.  The  Lord  answered  me,  and  set 
me  in  a large  place.  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord 
than  to  put  confidence  in  man.”=^ 

5.  And  it  is  thus  in  other  things.  Looking  every- 
where except  to  God,  man  is  everywhere  doomed  to 
disappointment.  And  God,  in  the  exercise  of  his  mercy, 
means  that  he  shall  be.  It  is  in  mercy  that  the  divine 
hand  is  heavily  upon  him.  In  his  wealth,  in  his  health;^ 
in  his  good  name,  in  his  worldly  wisdom,  in  everything 
which  separates  him  from  God,  the  storms  from  heaven 
sweep  away  the  sandy  foundation  on  which  his  frail  house 
is  built.  Ceasing,  under  such  circumstances,  to  have 
faith  in  himself,  and  in  anything  which  depends  upon 
himself,  he  has  nothing  left  him  but  hopelessness  and 
despair.  And  it  is  in  this  necessity  that  he  begins  to 
think  of  the  true  source  of  help.  Despair  of  himself 
leads  him  to  seek  God. 

6.  There  is  truth  in  the  saying  which  is  found  in 

* Ps.  118  : 5,  8. 

15 


170 


DIVINE  UNION. 


experimentar  writers,  that  the  loss  of  ourselves  is  the 
possession  of  God.  The  sad  experience  in  our  state  of 
sin,  that  faith  in  the  created  and  the  finite  has  no  ade- 
quate foundation,  leads  us  back,  or  rather  is  the  occasion, 
through  the  grace  of  God,  of  our  being  led  back  to  him, 
who  is  the  only  proper  Object  of  faith.  When  the  ves- 
sel of  our  own  making  sinks,  when  the  frail  plank  to 
which  we  had  clung  passes  from  under  us,  it  is  then, 
and  not  till  then,  that  we  seize  the  strong  hand  of  him 
who  walks  upon  the  winds  and  waves.  We  sink  that 
we  may  rise  ; we  suffer  that  we  may  be  healed  again  ; 
we  die  that  we  may  live. 

7.  In  connection  with  what  has  been  said,  we  may 
properly  make  the  remark  further,  that  suffering,  con- 
sidered as  a nurse  of  holiness,  may  justly  be  regarded 
as  a spiritual  privilege.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  only  true 
pleasure,  the  only  true  privilege,  which  heaven  or  earth 
affords,  is  that  of  doing  and  suffering  the  will  of  God. 
All  pleasure  which  is  separate  from  God,  is  only  evil 
and  wretchedness  in  disguise. 

It  is  well  for  us  to  suffer,  among  other  things,  that  we 
may  have  a better  understanding  of  the  situation  of  oth- 
^ers  who  suffer,  and  may  have  more  sympathy  with 
them.  A fallen  world,  where  evil  is  continually  striving 
with  good,  is  not  the  garden  where  true  and  unalloyed 
happiness  may  be  expected  to  grow.  Suffering,  what- 
ever distinctions  grace  may  ilaake  among  men,  places  us 
on  a level  with  the  common  lot  of  humanity,  and  leads 
us  continually  to  think  of  the  situation  of  sinners,  and 
to  feel  for  them. 

Another  of  the  benefits  connected  with  the  endurance 
of  suffering,  is,  that,  when  endured  in  the  fulness  of 
Christ’s  dispositions,  it  imparts  true  liberty  of  spirit.  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  there  can  be  no  bondage 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


171 


to  the  mind  that  cheerfully  lays  all  the  world’s  gifts  upon 
God’s  altar.  It  finds  its  riches  in  having  nothing,  and 
realizes  the  feeling  of  its  freedom  in  the  fact  that  it  has 
no  choice  separate  from  God’s  choice. 

8.  Again,  when  suffering  is  attended  with  right 
affections,  it  becomes  one  of  the  strongest,  and  perhaps 
the  only  satisfactory  evidence  of  true  love.  If  God 
should  bestow  upon  us  mercies  alone,  without  trials,  it 
might  be  difficult  to  say,  whether  we  loved  him  for  him- 
self, or  only  for  the  blessings  he  gave.  But  if  our  affec- 
tion remains  unshaken  under  the  trials  he  sees  fit  to 
send,  we  have  good  reason  to  regard  it  as  true.  The 
love  which  exists  and  fiourishes  at  such  times  is  not  a 
mere  accessory,  dependent  for  its  continuance  upon  cir- 
cumstances, but  is  a permanent  principle. 

One  remark  more  remains  to  be  added.  The  ten- 
dency of  suffering  is  not  only  to  lead  us  to  God,  as  the 
only  being  who  can  help  us,  but  to  keep  us  there.  The 
general  result,  in  the  case  of  Christians,  is,  the  more 
they  suffer,  the  more  they  trust ; and  the  more  they  trust, 
the  more  will  the  principle  of  trust  or  faith  be  strength- 
ened. So  that  affliction,  by  impressing  the  necessity  of 
higher  aid  than  human,  tends  not  only  to  originate  faith 
in  God,  but  indirectly  to  increase  it ; tends  not  only  to 
unite  us  with  God,  but  to  strengthen  that  union. 

Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  faith  can  be  much 
strengthened  in  any  other  way.  When  we  walk  by 
faith,  we  walk,  in  a certain  sense,  in  darkness.  If  it 
were  perfectly  light  around  us,  we  should  not  walk  by 
faith,  but  by  open  vision.  Faith  is  a light  to  the  soul ; 
but  it  is  the  very  condition  of  its  existence,  that  it  shall 
have  a dark  place  to  shine  in.  It  is  faith  which  con- 
ducts us,  but  our  journey  is  through  shadows.  And 
this  illustrates  the  meaning  of  certain  expressions  fre- 


172 


DIVINE  UNION. 


quently  found  in  the  experimental  writings  of  Dionysius 
the  Areopagite,  and  found  also  in  other  writers  who  hold 
similar  views,  such  as  the  night  of  faith  f ‘‘  the  divine 
darkness  f the  obscure  night  of  faith  f and  the  like. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  darkness  or  night, 
in  its  application  to  the  mind,  is  a figurative  expression, 
and  means  trial  or  suffering,  attended  with  ignorance 
of  the  issues  and  objects  of  that  suffering.  And,  accord- 
ingly, these  writers  teach,  in  harmony  with  other  exper- 
imental writers,  that  seasons  of  trial,  leading  to  the 
exercise  of  faith,  are  exceedingly  profitable.  The  bibli- 
cal writers,  whom  they  profess  to  follow,  obviously 
teach  the  same.  ‘‘Persecuted,’’  says  the  apostle,  “but 
not  forsaken ; cast  down,  but  not  destroyed.  Always 
bearing  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our 
body.”  And  again,  “Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but 
for  a moment,  worketh  for  us  a far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory.”  2 Cor.  4 : 9,  10,  17. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  MAN  AND  GOD 
BY  THE  RELATIVE  POSITION  OF  PARENT  AND  CHILD. 

Christ’s  interest  in  little  children.  — Passages  of  Scripture.  — General 
proposition  deduced  from  them.  — This  proposition  considered  in 
particulars,  namely,  in  faith,  in  knowledge,  in  love,  and  the  will.  — 
The  existence  of  a filial  nature  not  inconsistent  with  moral  responsi- 
bility. — Remarks. 

One  of  the  striking  incidents  in  the  history  of  our 
Saviour  is  the  notice  which  he  takes  of  little  children. 
‘‘And  they  brought  young  children  to  him,  that  he  should 
touch  them ; and  his  disciples  rebuked  those  that  brought 
them.  But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  he  was  much  displeased, 
and  said  unto  them.  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not ; for  of  such  is  the  king 
dom  of  God.”  Mark  10:  13,  14.  And  again  it  is  said 
in  Matthew,*  “ Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as 
little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.”  , 

2>  Taking  all  the  various  passages  which  may  be 
found  on  this  subject,  we  may  properly  deduce  from 
them  the  following  general  proposition,  namely:  It  is 
necessary  to  possess  and  to  exhibit  towards  our  heavenly 
Father  such  dispositions,  both  in  kind  and  degree,  as 

* Matthew  18 : 3. 


15* 


174 


DIVINE  UNION. 

exist  in  the  minds  of  children  towards  their  earthly 
parents. 

The  analogy  between  the  two  cases  is  very  striking ; 
and  it  was  the  clea^  perception  of  its  closeness,  and  of 
the  beautiful  and  important  instruction  involved  in  it, 
which  seems  to  have  so  much  interested  the  Saviour’s 
mind.  As  he  looked  upon  little  children,  he  perceived 
that  they  felt  towards  their  earthly  fathers  very  much 
as  he  felt  towards  his  own  Father  in  heaven;  and,  with 
such  a striking  illustration  before  him  of  what  he  expe- 
rienced in  his  own  bosom,  he  could  not  fail  to  be  inter- 
ested. And  this  striking  resemblance  between  the  feel- 
ings of  the  child  of  man  and  the  feelings  of  the  child  of 
God,  as  the  former  are  directed  towards  the  earthly 
parent  and  the  latter  towards  the  heavenly  parent,  will 
throw  light  upon  and  will  help  to  confirm  some  of  the 
leading  principles  in  the  relations  of  God  and  man, 
which  have  hitherto  been  laid  down. 

3.  The  general  view,  then,  upon  which  we  proceed  in 
the  remarks  that  follow,  is  this : — The  earthly  child,  in 
its  relations  to  its  earthly  father,  is  the  representation,  the 
earthly  development,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  of  the 
relations  of  the  child  of  God  to  his  Father  in  heaven. 

And  this  is  seen,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  matter  of 
FAITH.  It  is  very  obvious,  in  regard  to  the  faith  which 
the  earthly  child  has  in  its  earthly  parent,  that  it  is  a 
faith  given,  a faith  implanted.  The  filial  confidence 
which  it  exhibits  is  not  something  which  the  child 
makes  himself;  nor  is  it,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  the 
result  of  experience;  but  is  innate.  God  himself  is  the 
giver  of  it.  Implanted  by  the  divine  hand,  and  operat- 
ing instinctively,  the  faith  of  the  child  is  seen  in  the  ear- 
liest movements  of  its  infancy.  And  ever  afterwards,  in 
the  various  situations  in  which  the  child  is  placed,  it 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


175 


retains  all  the  attributes  and  exhibits  all  the  results  of  an 
implanted  or  connatural  principle ; so  much  so,  that,  to 
withhold  confidence  from  a father  or  mother,  we  all  feel 
to  be  doing  that  which  is  a violation  of  nature. 

4.  And  such  precisely  was  the  character  of  the  faith 
which  man  possessed  in  his  heavenly  Father  before  he 
fell.  The  views  which  have  already  been  presented  in 
the  chapters  on  the  union  of  God  and  man  in  faith,  are 
sustained  by  the  beautiful  analogy  which  is  here  pre- 
sented to  our  notice.  The  first  man  was  created  in  the 
possession  of  faith.  We  have  endeavored  to  show,  in  a 
former  chapter,  fhat  he  could  not  have  been  created  in 
any  other  way.  To  believe  in  God  was  a nature  to 
him;  just  as  we  find,  at  the  present  time,  that  it  is 
natural  for  the  child  to  place  confidence  in  its  earthly 
parent.  And  in  the  full  restoration  of  man  to  God,  (a 
restoration  for  which  provision  is  made  in  the  coming 
and  atonement  of  Christ,  and  in  the  renewing  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,)  the  principle  of  faith  will  be  reestab- 
lished, not  merely  as  a variable  exercise  of  the  mind 
originating  in  the  will,  but  as  a permanent  element  or 
nature  of  the  mind  existing  in  harmony  with  the  will, 
and  with  the  will’s  consent.  And  those  who  are  thus 
restored  will  become,  in  respect  to  their  faith,  little 
children.” 

5.  Again,  it  is  natural  to  the  child  to  look  up  to  the 
father,  and  to  be  guided  by  him  in  matters  of  knowledge. 
It  is  an  established  principle,  in  the  philosophy  of  the 
human  mind,  that  knowledge  is  and  must  be  preceded 
by  faith.  The  relations  of  the  two  we  have  already 
explained  in  part  in  former  chapters.  It  is  impossible  for 
us,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  to  accept  as  our  teacher 
a being  in  whom  we  have  no  confidence.  Faith,  extend- 
ing to  all  things  which  are  its  appropriate  objects,  is  first 


176 


DIVINE  UNION. 


given  to  the  child  as  an  inherent  and  essential  part  of  his 
nature.  Then,  under  the  influence  of  that  filial  confi- 
dence which  leads  him  to  look  to  his  parents  for  every- 
thing else,  it  is  natural  to  him  (and  it  would  be  against 
nature  to  do  otherwise)  to  look  for  and  to  receive  his 
intellectual  guidance  from  the  same  parental  source. 
We  have  evidence  of  this  original  and  natural  tendency 
of  the  mind  in  what  we  notice  every  day,  every  hour. 

a law  of  nature,  the  mind  of  the  father  becomes  the 
mind  of  the  child. 

It  was  in  this  manner  that  man,  at  his  first  creation, 
recognized  God  as  his  teacher.  He  believed  in  God,  and 
received  him  constantly  as  a source  of  inward  inspira- 
tion. God  was  his  knowledge.  Such  was  the  state  of 
things  before  he  fell.  And  such  will  always  be  the  state 
of  things,  whenever,  in  being  united  with  God,  he  is 
brought  back  to  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  his  first 
estate. 

6.  Again,  the  child  loves  his  father.  The  evidences 
of  this  are  constantly  exhibited.  He  rejoices  with  his 
father’s  joy,  and  weeps  with  his  father’s  sorrow.  The 
slightest  injury  to  his  father’s  honor  is  felt  as  an  injury 
to  his  own.  The  true  child  would  not  hesitate  to  die  for 
its  father  or  mother,  if  the  occasion  presented.  And  this 
strong  and  permanent  love  is  not,  a matter  of  calculation, 
but  a nature.  It  is  born  with  him,  grows  with  him,  lives 
with  him.  Blows  will  not  beat  it  down ; waters  will 
not  drown  it ; fires  will  not  burn  it. 

At  his  first  creation,  man’s  love  to  his  heavenly  Father 
was  like  this,  — a love  implanted  by  a divine  power, 
and  kept  in  operation  by  a divine  presence.  He  after- 
wards lost  it,  it  is  true;  but  he  could  not  have  lost  it,  if 
he  had  not  first  possessed  it.  As  a moral  being,  man 
was  allowed,  and  perhaps  we  may  say,  was  expected 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


177 


and  required,  to  s*anction  the  principles  and  methods  of 
his  inward  vitality,  by  his  own  voluntary  concurrence. 
Failing  to  do  this,  in  a way  and  under  circumstances 
which  the  human  mind  does  not  now  perhaps  fully 
understand,  God  withdrew  himself  as  the  central  ele- 
ment of  his  being;  and  he  became  from  that  time  the 
subject  of  spiritual  alienation  and  death.  But  in  his 
restoration  to  God  through  Christ,  he  is  necessarily 
restored  to  the  possession  of  that  divine  nature  from 
which  he  fell.  As  he  is  made  anew  in  faith  and  knowl- 
edge, so  he  is  made  anew  in  love.  The  lost  principle  of 
holy  love  is  not  only  restored,  but  becomes  again,  under 
the  transforming  operations  of  divine  grace,  what  it  was 
in  the  beginning,  namely,  a nature^  — an  operative  life, 
moved  by  a power  of  movement  existing  in  itself.  In 
other  words,  it  once  more  becomes  in  relation  to  God 
what  the  child’s  love  is  in  relation  to  its  earthly  father. 

7.  We  proceed  to  remark,  further,  that  the  will  of  the 
child  is  naturally  merged  in  the  will  of  the  father. 
There  is  a nature  in  this  case,  as  there  is  in  the  others. 
The  filial  will  is  not  harmonized  in  the  parental  will  as 
a matter  of  calculation,  but  as  the  result  of  a mental  ten- 
dency. There  are,  undoubtedly,  some  variations  from 
this  view,  in  consequence  of  the  power  of  choice  inher- 
ent in  the  will,  ani  particularly  in  consequence  of  man’s 
fallen  condition ; but  what  has  been  said  is  correct  as  a 
general  statement.  Accordingly,  yielding  readily  to  the 
tendency  of  their  mental  position,  little  children  do  what 
they  are  commanded  to  do.  Sometimes  it  will  cost  them 
trouble  and  suffering;  but  this  does  not  alter  the  general 
direction  and  the  general  inclinations  of  their  feelings 
and  actions.  Subjecting  their  own  wisdom  to  a higher 
wisdom,  they  have  an  instinctive  feeling  that  their  ap- 
propriate and  first  business  is  to  harmonize  with  the 


178 


DIVINE  UNION. 


expression  of  a parent’s  will.  And  so  strong  is  this  ten- 
dency to  a union  of  wills,  that  very  frequently  they  act 
without  knowing  what  will  be  the  end  of  their  action. 
It  is  natural  to  them  to  leave  everything  with  their 
father,  — the  mode,  the  time,  the  object,  and  the  results 
of  action,  as  well  as  the  action  itself. 

8.  And  this,  in  a remarkable  manner,  represents  the 
state  of  things  as  it  existed  in  man  at  his  first  creation. 
The  will  of  Adam,  before  he  fell,  not  only  harmonized 
perfectly  with  the  divine  will,  but  naturally;  that  is  to 
say,  without  efibrt,  and  by  an  implanted  tendency.  It  is 
so  with  all  holy  beings  now.  It  was  eminently  so,  (as  I 
think  we  may  safely  infer  from  the  passages  which  indi- 
cate his  submission  and  union  of  will,)  with  Christ,  the 
second  Adam;  and  it  will  be  found  to  be  so  with  all 
those  who  are  restored  again  and  perfected  in  Christ’s 
linage.  What  God  chooses,  they  choose.  What  God 
wills,  they  will.  The  will  becomes  in  relation  to  God 
what  the  will  of  the  affectionate  and  dutiful  child  is  to 
its  earthly  parent. 

9.  These  views  help  to  the  better  understanding  of 

what  was  said  in  a former  chapter  in  relation  to  the 
different  kinds  of  union.  Some  of  the  remarks  to  which 
we  refer  were  these:  Union,  as  we  desire  to  develop  it 

in  this  treatise,  is  not  merely  a treaty  of  peace,  nor  even 
the  closer  compact  of  alliance ; but  a combination  or 
union  of  nature;  not  the  union  of  juxtaposition,  but 
of  filiation ; not  the  union  of  convention,  but  the  union 
of  life.  It  is  to  this  union  that  all  who  are  born  of  God 
must  at  last  come;  — not  uniting  with  God,  as  man 
unites  conventionally  with  his  fellow-man,  in  the  forma- 
tion of  civil  society,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  but  with 
that  union  of  life  with  life,  which  binds  together  the 
father  and  the  son.” 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


179 


With  the  illustrations  which  have  just  been  given,  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  this  important  and  fundamental  posi- 
tion will  be  more  clearly  understood.  Undoubtedly  the 
analogy  would  be  more  perfect,  if  the  earthly  parents 
and  children  had  not  fallen  into  sin.  But  still,  with  all 
the  drawbacks  which  are  attributable  to  that  circum- 
stance, it  strikingly  indicates  what  man  was  in  the 
beginning,  and  what  he  is  destined  to  be  in  the  future ; 
— not  merely  a servant,  not  merely  a conventional  coad- 
jutor ; but  a son  in  the  image  of  his  Father,  coming  into 
existence  in  a true  descent,  and  by  the  principle  of  a 
divine  filiation. 

10.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  take  into  consideration, 
in  a few  words,  the  great  objection  which  so  frequently 
presents  itself  It  will  be  likely  to  be  said  that  the  idea 
of  union  with  God,  on  the  principle  of  a nature^  is  incon- 
sistent with  moral  freedom.  It  may  be  replied,  in  the  first 
place,  that  the  subject  of  moral  freedom,  considered  in 
any  point  of  view,  and  in  the  light  of  any  hypothesis,  is 
attended  with  difficulties,  when  taken  in  connection,  as 
it  always  ought  to  be,  with  the  continual  and  perfect 
superintendence  of  God.  Some  of  the  ablest  mental 
philosophers  have  recognized  this  difficulty  without 
attempting  to  solve  it;  and  we  think,  on  a careful 
examination,  it  will  not  be  found  to  be  greater  on  the 
view  which  has  now  been  presented,  than  it  is  on  others. 

11.  With  this  general  remark  kept  in  mind,  we  pro- 
ceed to  the  consideration  of  this  topic  in  another  light. 
Our  general  view  of  the  matter,  examined  in  a few 
words,  is  this.  We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  filial  life, 
the  life  of  the  child,  is  properly  designated,  and  that  :t 
in  fact  is,  a nature;  not,  however,  a material  nature, 
which  is  wholly  inflexible  in  its  modes  of  operation,  but 
a mental  nature.  Certain  it  is  that  men  generally,  per- 


180 


DIVINE  UNION. 


haps  we  may  say  without  exception,  speak  of  the  affec- 
tion of  the  son  or  daughter  as  a natural  affection.  At  the 
same  time  we  never  regard  the  exercise  of  the  affection, 
although  it  is  allowedly  an  exercise  of  nature,  as  incon- 
sistent with  moral  obligation.  That  is  to  say,  the  filial 
affection  is  a nature  which  is  susceptible  of  a moral 
character.  Accordingly,  in  the  case  of  all  persons,  who 
freely  and  cheerfully  allow  the  filial  nature  to  act  itself 
out  as  a nature,  it  must  obviously  be  regarded  as  a na- 
ture which  harmonizes  with  choice,  and  is  sustained  by 
choice.  In  other  words,  wherever  it  freely  acts  itself  out 
as  a nature,  it  is  chosen  and  approved  and  aided  as  a 
nature  by  him  who  is  the  subject  of  it.  All  the  powers 
of  the  mind  are  then  consentingly  and  approvingly  given 
in  the  right  direction.  And,  in  consequence  of  this  har- 
mony of  a free  choice  with  the  instincts  and  tendencies 
of  nature,  we  always  look  upon  such  persons  with  moral 
approbation. 

God  himself  commends  and  approves  such.  Honor 
thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be  long 
upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.’’  It 
is  natural  to  honor  our  father  and  mother;  and  yet  there 
is  so  much  of  a moral  quality  in  such  honor  that  God 
distinctly  approves  and  rewards  it. 

12.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  obstruction  of  the  op- 
eration and  tendencies  of  this  implanted  nature  by  efforts 
of  the  will  is  regarded  as  an  immorality.  Such  cases 
sometimes  occur.  There  are  some  persons,  who  not  only 
fail  to  sustain  their  filial  nature  by  the  hearty  concur- 
rence of  the  acts  of  the  will,  but  resist  its  tendencies  in 
various  ways,  and  finally  prostrate  it.  The  contest, 
however,  is  generally  a severe  one.  God  respects  his 
own  work,  and  delights  in  it;  and,  accordingly,  he 
endeavors  to  sustain  it  when  it  is  assailed.  But  he  also 


UNION  IN  WILL. 


181 


respects  and  delights  in  that  moral  freedom  and  choice, 
which  he  has  given  to  man.  And  whenever  men,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  volitional  power,  have  resisted  the  laws 
and  operations  of  God  in  the  soul  (we  mean  now  the  nat- 
ural laws  and  operations)  to  a certain  point,  he  abandons 
them ; he  leaves  them  to  themselves  ; and  they  become 
unnatural.  They  have  destroyed  their  nature,  because 
God  has  ceased  to  sustain  their  nature  against  the  neglect 
and  opposition  of  their  own  wills.  So  that  it  is  proper 
to  say,  (and  there  is  fearful  import  in  the  words,)  that 
the  unnatural  son  and  daughter,  that  the  unnatural 
father  and  mother,  are  left  of  God. 

A nature  which  can  thus  be  sustained  by  our  adoption 
and  concurrence,  or  injured  and  sometimes  destroyed  by 
our  opposition,  harmonizes  entirely  with  the  principles 
of  morals.  So  that  the  nature  which  constitutes  the 
child  what  he  is,  is  not  more  a filial  nature'  than  it  is  a 
moral  nature. 

13.  And,  in  like  manner,  in  once  more  becoming  the 
children  of  God,  we  receive  and  retain  a filial  nature, 
but  without  ceasing  to  possess  a moral  nature.  Much  is 
involved  in  that  free  and  full  consecration  which  every 
true  Christian  is  supposed  to  have  made  of  himself  to 
his  heavenly  Father.  As  free  and  moral  agents,  we 
consent  now  and  forever,  if  we  do  what  we  ought  to  do, 
that  God  shall  be  a truth,  a life,  a nature  in  us ; which 
he  never  has  been  and  never  will  be  without  our  consent. 
Adam  before  he  fell,  Christ  in  his  humanity,  angels  in 
heaven,  all  holy  beings  everywhere,  either  have  existed, 
or  do  now  exist,  as  holy  beings,  by  means  of  the  opera- 
tion of  God  in  the  soul ; and  yet  without  any  alienation 
of  their  moral  attributes  and  responsibilities,  because 
they  have  received  this  operation  with  their  own  choice, 
and  have  sanctioned  it  by  their  own  approbation. 

16 


182 


DIVINE  UNION. 


With  these  explanations,  we  repeat  that  there  is  no  true 
place  of  rest  and  safety,  short  of  the  reestablishmert  of 
those  relations  which  we  have  endeavored  to  illustrate. 
Accordingly,  we  cannot  regard  it  as  safe  for  any  one  to 
stop  in  the  progress  of  inward  experience,  until  he  feels 
and  knows  that  he  has  become,  in  the  Scripture  sense  of 
the  terms,  a little  child  ; not  only  having  a child’s 
name,  but  a child’s  nature.  And  when  this  relation  is 
reestablished,  not  as  a name  merely,  but  as  a reality,  — 
not  as  a mere  conventional  arrangement,  but  as  a true 
nature,  — then,  and  not  till  then,  we  are  brought  into  true 
union  with  our  heavenly  Father. 

14.  One  remark  more  only  remains  to  be  added.  It 
is  on  these  principles,  and  these  only,  that  we  can  make 
our  position  harmonize  with  our  prayers.  When  we 
pray,  we  address  God  as  our  Father.  This  implies  that 
we  either  are,  or  ought  to  be,  his  children.  And  our 
language  throughout  in  prayer  corresponds  to  the  idea 
that  our  true  position  is  the  filial  position.  We  pray  that 
we  may  distrust  and  renounce  ourselves,  and  look  only 
to  God  for  guidance  and  support.  Recognizing  our  ina- 
bility to  supply  our  own  wants,  we  pray  for  faith,  for 
wisdom,  for  love,  for  the  guidance  of  our  wills.  We  go 
to  him,  in  form  at  least,  just  as  the  little  child  goes  tc  its 
earthly  parent.  If  we  will  go  in  the  same  sincerity,  our 
heavenly  Father  will  recognize  the  relationship,  and  we 
shall  thus  become  the  true  sons  of  God. 


.PART  SIXTH. 


ON  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  HIS  PROYDENCES. 


CHAPTER  I, 

ON  THE  TEUE  IDEA  OF  PROVIDENCE  AND  EXTENT. 

Oligin  and  meaning  of  the  term  providence.  — Importance  of  the  doc- 
trine of  Divine  Providence.  — Of  the  difference  between  a partic- 
ular and  a general  providence. — Of  the  recognition  of  a particular 
providence  by  the  heathen.  — Of  its  recognition  in  the  Scriptures.  — 
The  providence  of  Grod  extends  not  only  to  individuals,  but  to  fam- 
ilies and  nations. 

The  word  providence  is  derived  from  the  Latin  term 
PROviDENTiA,  meaning  watchfulness,  care,  oversight.  As 
the  term  is  commonly  employed,  it  means  the  constant 
oversight  or  care  which  God  exercises  over  all  his  works. 

2.  “ The  doctrine  of  divine  providence,’’  says  a judi- 
cious writer,  is  of  the  very  first  importance,  and  con- 
tributes greatly  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  human 
life.  Were  it  not  that  God  maintained  a constant  and 
watchful  care  over  all  his  works,  all  piety  would  imme- 
diately cease.  A God  who  did  not  concern  himself  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world,  and  especially  in  the  actions  of 
men,  would  be  to  us  as  good  as  none  at  all.  In  that 
case,  should  men  live  in  a virtuous  and  pious  manner, 
they  would  have  no  approbation  to  expect  from  him. 


184 


DIVINE  UNION. 


Sho  lid  they  oe  guilty  of  crimes,  they  would  have  no 
punishment  t)  fear.  Were  they  persecuted,  they  would 
think  of  God  only  as  the  idle  witness  of  their  wrongs. 
Were  they  in  circumstances  of  suffering  and  sorrow, 
they  could  find  no  consolation  if  God  were  unmindful 
of  them.’’  ^ 

3.  In  considering  this  important  and  interesting  sub- 
ject, it  is  proper  to  notice  the  distinction  which  is  fre- 
quently made  between  a particular  and  general  provi- 
dence. It  is  certainly  doubtful  whether  such  a distinc- 
tion ought  to  be  made  ; — especially  if  the  doctrine  of  a 
general  providence  is  designed  to  supersede  that  of  a 
particular  providence.  How  can  we  readily  conceive 
of  a general  providence,  extending  its  watchfulness  over 
things  in  their  general  aspects,  which  does  not  involve 
the  fact  of  a particular  providence,  extending  its  watch- 
fulness at  the  same  time  to  those  particulars,  out  of 
which  that  which  is  general  is  constituted?  If  there  is  a 
God,  to  whom  the  attributes  usually  ascribed  to  God 
belong,  there  is  and  must  be  a providence  of  God.  If 
there  is  a providence  of  God  extending  with  any  degree 
of  certainty,  and  with  any  good  results,  to  things  in 
their  general  nature,  it  extends  to  everything.  We  do 
not  propose,  however,  to  enter  into  an  argument  in  sup- 
port of  a view  which  seems  to  us  to  be  obvious  of  itself. 

4.  It  is  the  rejection  of  the  doctrine  of  providence, 
considered  as  entering  into  particulars,  which  constitutes 
one  of  ths  great  evils,  the  practical  atheism,  perhaps  we 
may  call  it,  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  It  is  true, 
undoubtedly,  that  men,  with  but  few  exceptions,  admit 
the  existence  of  a God ; but  they  do  not  admit,  except  in 
a very  mitigated  and  imperfect  sense,  his  presence  and 

* Lectnr  !5  on  Christian  Theology,  by  George  Christian  Knapp. 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


185 


supervision.  They  allow  him  a being,  but  they  practi 
cally  strike  off  its  infinity,  by  assigning  him  a distant 
and  strictly  bounded  locality.  They  allow  him  the  priv- 
ilege of  casting  a look  down  upon  the  world’s  affairs ; 
but  cannot  bear  the  thought  that  the  world  does  not  and 
cannot  go  on  without  him.  Here,  then,  is  one  of  the 
great  evils  of  the  day,  one  of  the  secrets  of  our  misery  ; 
the  acknowledgment  of  God’s  existence,  with  the  excis- 
ion of  his  practical  omnipresence  ; the  recognition  of  God 
in  general,  but  the  rejection  of  him  as  God  in  particular. 

5.  One  would  be  almost  inclined  to  think  that  heathen 
nations  are  less  faulty  in  this  particular  than  those 
which  bear  the  name  of  Christians.  The  untutored  sav- 
age 

Sees  God  in  clouds,  and  hears  him  in  the  wind.” 

Because  an  advanced  knowledge  in  the  sciences  has  ex- 
plained many  physical  laws,  men  have  fallen  into  the 
habit  of  ascribing  to  law  what  belongs  to  agency.  And 
by  thus  attributing  almost  everything  to  what  they 
denominate  the  laws- of  Nature,  they  forget  the  God  of 
Nature.  The  mind  of  the  savage,  on  the  contrary,  con- 
templating the  result  without  understanding  the  law  by 
which  it  is  brought  about,  sees  God  in  all  the  objects 
around  him.  It  is  God,  dwelling  in  the  cave  of  its  foun- 
tain waters,  who  pours  down  the  mighty  rivers.  It  is  the 
Great  Spirit  that  sends  the  storm  and  the  lightning  from 
the  mountain  tops.  It  is  God  that  shines  in  the  sun, 
and  walks  in  the  clouds,  and  dwells  even  in  four-footed 
beasts  and  creeping  things.  Here  is  a great  truth, 
founded  in  the  nature  of  God,  although  it  is  perverted 
and  darkened  in  its  development  by  the  imperfection  of 
fallen  hearts.  It  is  a truth,  therefore,  which  ought  to 
be  respected.  And  the  question  may  be  put  m all  sin- 
16^ 


186 


DIVINE  UNION. 


cerity : — Who  would  not  rather  be  the  superstitious 
savage  than  the  unbelieving  philosopher  ? 

6.  It  is  certainly  necessary  that  science,  bewildered 
in  its  own  wanderings,  should  return  at  last,  and  bap- 
tize itself  in  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures : those  Scriptures 
which  constantly  associate  God  with  all  his  works.  The 
beautiful  Psalms,  unequalled  in  poetry  as  they  are  in 
devotion,  may  be  said  to  be  built  upon  this  great  idea, 
which  is  equally  philosophical  and  religious.  Speaking 
of  God,  the  Psalmist  says,  “ He  sendeth  the  springs  into 
the  valleys,  which  run  among  the  hills.  He  watereth 
the  hills  from  his  chambers.  He  causeth  the  grass  to 
grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for  the  service  of  man.  He 
hath  planted  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  where  the  birds 
build  their  nests.  He  appointeth  the  moon  for  seasons ; 
and  the  sun  knoweth  his  going  down.  Thou  makest 
darkness,  and  it  is  night,  wherein  all  the  beasts  of  the 
forest  do  creep  forth.  The  young  lions  roar  after  their 
prey,  and  seek  their  meat  from  God.^^  f 

This  is  the  spirit  which  pervades  these  divine  poems. 
They  everywhere  represent  the  union  of  God  with  his 
works  by  an  ever-present  supervision  and  love.  It  is 
not  a system  of  second  causes,  it  is  not  nature,  but  God, 
who  does  all.  It  is  God  who  covers  the  heavens  with 
clouds,  who  prepares  rain  for  the  earth,  who  maketh 
grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains.  He  giveth  to  the 
beast  his  food,  and  to  the  young  ravens  which  cry.’’  f 

The  same  spirit,  the  same  devout  disposition  to  recog- 
nize God  in  everything,  pervades  all  parts  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. 

7,  It  is  interesting,  to  see  how  many  passages  there 
are  m the  Scriptures  which  speak  of  God’s  protection  of 
animals,  even  of  those  which  are  the  least  considerable, 

* Psalm  104  : 10,  20.  f Psalm  147 : 8,  9. 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


187 


He  takes  care  of  the  cattle  of  the  fields;  he  feeds  the 
young  lions ; he  plants  the  cedars  where  the  birds  build 
their  nests.  Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air/’  says  the 
Saviour,  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor 
gather  into  barns;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth 
them.”  It  is  not  possible  that  he  should  take  less  care 
of  man.  Of  all  the  existences  on  the  earth,  man  stands 
the  first,  and  God  loves  him  most.  The  Saviour  adds, 
for  the  comfort  of  those  who  heard  him  when  speaking 
of  God’s  care  of  the  birds,  “ Are  ye  not  much  better  than 
they  ? ” As  much  as  if  he  had  said,  the  God  who  pro- 
vides for  them  cannot  fail  to  provide  for  you,  who  are 
so  much  more  important  in  his  estimation.  And,  in 
another  passage,  he  says,  “ Are  not  five  sparrows  sold 
for  two  farthings  ? And  not  one  of  them  is  forgotten 
before  God.  But  even  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are 
all  numbered.  Fear  not,  therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value 
than  many  sparrows.” 

8.  Truly  here  is  a great  truth,  worthy  of  our  constant 
contemplation.  Around  every  individual,  no  matter 
what  may  be  his  situation,  is  thrown  the  shield  of  the 
divine  presence,  love,  and  care.  Every  individual  can 
say  of  himself,  God  is  with  me.  He  is  not  a God  afar 
off.  He  knoweth  my  down-sitting  and  up-rising,  my 
going  out  and  my  coming  in.  He  not  only  knows,  but 
he  orders  events  concerning  me. 

Nor  is  there  any  limit  to  the  divine  presence  and 
operation,  except  that  which  is  interposed  by  unbelief. 
God  will  do  all,  operating  in  entire  harmony  with  the 
laws  of  our  mental  constitution,  if  we  only  have  faitn 
enough  to  leave  ourselves  entirely  in  his  hands,  and  let 
him  do  all.  He  will  not,  in  the  present  state  of  things, 
so  interpose  and  extend  his  own  action  as  to  prevent  the 
concurrence  of  ours.  But,  nevertheless,  he  will  unite 


188 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  two  in  such  a manner  that  we  shall  recognize  every 
good  thing  as  coming  from  him.  In  reference  to  the 
daily  support  received  from  him,  we  shall  be  ready  to 
say,  with  an  eminent  English  writer,  who  had  passed 
through  many  vicissitudes  and  trials,  have  been  fed 
more  by  miracle  than  Elijah  when  the  angels  were  his 
purveyors.”  ^ 

9.  He;  who  is  the  ever-present  Guide  and  Father  of 
the  individual,  is  the  Father  also  of  family  associations. 
All  associations,  which  exist  with  the  divine  approba- 
tion, have  a community  of  character  and  interest,  which 
not  only  involves  a common  responsibility,  but  renders 
them  susceptible  of  a common  allotment.  They  can 
be  guided,  protected,  and  blessed  in  their  common  or 
associated  position  as  truly  as  in  that  which  is  indi- 
vidual. God  setteth  the  solitary  in  families.”  Hav- 
ing established  and  recognized,  in  a multitude  of  in- 
stances, the  family  relation,  he  bestows  his  favor  or 
disapprobation  on  families,  according  as  they  conform  to 
or  violate  the  ends  for  which  they  were  established. 
The  community  principle  is  especially  represented  and 
consolidated  in  the  father.  If  he  is  a man  of  prayer  and 
faith,  he  is  a channel  of  blessings  to  all  the  members. 
But  if  it  be  otherwise,  they  all  suifer.  God,  operating 
in  a little  different  manner  in  consequence  of  the  new 
facts  and  relations  existing,  is  the  God  of  families  as  well 
as  of  individuals.  If  they  endeavor  to  discharge  their 
family  duties  in  a proper  manner,  and  look  to  him  for 
guidance  and  assistance,  they  will  not  fail  to  find  it.  If 
they  forget  him,  it  will  be  a necessary  result  that  they 
will  be  forgotten. 

10.  God,  in  the  exercise  of  his  providential  care,  is 


* Daniel  Defoe. 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


189 


the  Judge  ani  Father  also  of  great  commonwealths. 
The  idea  that  God  should  be  united  to  man  as  an  indi- 
vidual, and  in  his  relation  to  families,  but  forgetful  of 
and  alien  to  those  bodies  of  men  which  are  denominated 
civil  societies,  — governing  the  one,  and  leaving  the  other 
without  government,  — would  be  exceedingly  absurd.  If 
he  cannot  abandon  a man,  nor  the  hair  of  a man’s  head, 
how  can  he  abandon  a nation  or  any  part  of  a nation’s 
interests?  It  is  an  obvious  dictate  of  reason,  therefore, 
that  he  who  is  watchful  over  the  less,  will  be  careful  of 
the  greater ; that  he,  who  watches  over  the  members  of 
the  body,  will  take  care  of  the  whole  body,  if  he  has  the 
power  and  qualifications  to  do  so ; and  that  he,  who  is 
the  head  of  the  citizen,  a fortiori^  if  his  capacity  equals 
the  impulses  of  his  benevolence,  will  be  the  head  of  the 
state. 

11.  And  it  is  certain  that  what  is  reasonable  in  this 
case  is  also  scriptural.  The  Bible  everywhere  repre- 
sents God  as  the  God  of  nations.  How  often  is  it  said, 
in  Daniel,  in  Job,  in  the  Psalms,  and  everywhere,  that 
‘‘the  kingdom  is  the  Lord’s;”  that  “He  is  Governor 
among  the  nations;”  that  He  “removes  and  sets  up 
kings  !”  What  was  the  language  which  David  used  in 
his  great  contest  with  the  Philistine  chief,  — young  as 
he  was,  and  just  come  from  the  fiocks  and  the  pastures 
of  Bethlehem?  “Thou  comest  to  me,”  said  David, 
“ with  a sword,  ar.d  with  a spear,  and  with  a shield: 
but  Income  unto  thee  m the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts^ 
the  God  of  the  armies  of  Israel^  whom  thou  hast  defied. 
This  day  will  the  Lord  deliver  thee  into  mine  hand  ; 
and  I will  smite  thee,  and  take  thine  head  from  thee. 
And  I will  give  the  carcasses  of  the  hosts  of  the  Philis- 
tines unto  the  fowls  of  the  air  and  to  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  earth ; that  all  the  earth  may  know  that  there  is  a 


190 


DIVINE  U NION. 


God  in  Israel  And  all  this  assembly  shall  know  that 
the  Lord  saveth  not  with  sword  and  spear;  for  the 
battle  is  the  Lord^s^  and  He  will  give  you  into  our 
hands.’’ 

What  was  the  declaration  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord, 
by  the  mouth  of  l is  prophet,  to  Jehoshaphat,  king  of 
Judah?  Thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you,  Be  not  afraid 
nor  dismayed  by  reason  of  this  great  multitude ; for  the 
battle  is  not  yours,  but  God^s.  Ye  shall  not  need  to 
fight  in  this  battle;  set  yourselves,  stand  ye. still,  and 
see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord  with  you,  O Judah  and 
Jerusalem;  fear  not,  nor  be  dismayed;  to-morrow  go  out 
against  them,  for  the  Lord  will  he  with  you^  And  it  is 
added,  after  some  account  of  the  great  victory  which  the 
Lord  gave:  “So  the  realm  of  Jehoshaphat  was  quiet; 
for  his  God  gave  him  rest  round  about P ^ 

12.  The  doctrine,  that  God  in  his  providence  is  to  be 
recognized  as  the  God  of  all  societies  and  nations,  is  not 
only  sustained  by  reason  and  by  the  Scriptures,  but  the 
facts  which  are  presented  in  history  constantly  and 
clearly  confirm  it.  To  the  eye  of  a disciplined  and  com- 
prehensive faith,  the  footsteps  of  God,  as  they  are  left  in 
the  great  pathway  of  nations,  are  as  plain  as  if  they 
were  impressed  and  written  there  in  letters  of  light.  God 
is  to  be  found  in  the  dust  of  Nineveh  and  the  ruins  of 
Thebes.  If  he  raised  them  to  mighty  power,  he  also,  in 
the  day  of  his  righteous  retribution,  clothed  them  in 

sackcloth,  and  made  them  desolate.  It  was  God  who 

' • 

planted  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  in  the  condition  of  slave- 
ry, and  who  afterwards  employed  them  in  the  punish- 
ment of  their  masters,  and  then  led  them  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  corrupt  nations  of  Palestine.  The  Israel- 


*21ChroD  ch.  20. 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


191 


ites  themselves  had  their  day  of  progress  and  decline, 
according  as  they  walked  in  God’s  ways,  or  were  diso- 
bedient. It  was  God,  making  the  crime  of  human 
ambition  the  blind  but  effective  instrument  in  fulfilling 
his  own  mighty  purposes,  who  called  the  Assyrians  from 
the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  the  overthrow  of  the* 
Israelites.  The  Assyrians,  in  their  turn,  with  Babylon, 
their  immense  city,  fell  under  the  arm  of  the  destroyer 
God  found  an  instrument  of  his  mighty  purposes  where 
none  was  supposed  to  exist.  He  raised  up  the  Persian 
Cyrus,  and  called  him  by  name  many  years  before  his 
birth,  and  said,  I will  go  before  thee.”  And  again, 
^‘I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else;  there  is  no  God 
besides  me.  I girded  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known 
me.”  — Isa.  45  : 8. 

The  contemplative  mpd  will  see,  in  the  history  of  all 
nations,,  not  excepting  those  of  modern  times,  the  evi- 
dences of  an  overruling  Providence.  They  stand  or  fall 
as  they  stand  in  or  out  of  God.  When  nations  have 
obeyed  him,  they  have  lived.  When  they  have  forgot- 
ten him,  they  have  been  destroyed.  To  forget  God  is  to 
sin.  And  all  sin  has  in  itself  an  element  of  self-destruc- 
tion. It  is  internal  disorganization  and  weakness  as 
well  as  immorality.  And  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  God, 
while  it  continues  sin,  and  is  thus  placed  out  of  the  r^ch 
of  his  protection,  to  save  it  either  from  decay  or  sorrow. 
With  no  divine  arm  under  it,  it  is  prostrated  by  its  owii 
recumbence.  But  as  it  lies  scattered  and  decayed  in  the 
ashes  of  successive  generations,  it  shows  the  burning 
footprints  of  the  divine  displeasure. 

13.  Such  is  the  true  idea  of  Divine  Providence ; ex- 
tending to  all  things  which  exist,  to  things  animate  and 
inanimate,  organized  and  unorganized,  to  plants,  and 
trees,  and  animals,  to  men,  to  families,  to  nations ; wide 


192 


DIVINE  UNION. 


as  the  universej  sleepless  as  the  divine  omniscience, 
effective  as  the  supreme  power ; always  holding  in 
respect,  however,  the  moral  freedom  of  all  moral  agents, 
and  inviting,  without  forcibly  compelling,  them  to  accept 
that  daily  bread  of  superintendence  and  love  which  is 
the  true  element  of  everlasting  life. 


# 


» 


CHAPTER  II. 


ON  THE  LAW  OF  PROVIDENCE  IN  DISTINCTION  FROM  THE  3EN- 
ERAL  NATURE  OR  FACT  OF  PROVIDENCE. 

Of  the  distinction  between  Providence  and  the  law  of  Providence. — 
Of  the  foundation  of  the  law  of  Providence.  — Illustrations  of  the 
subject.  — Of  the  harmony  of  the  providential  law,  and  the  law  c/ 
the  Scriptures.  — Practical  remarks. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  endeavored  to  illus- 
trate what  we  consider  to  be  the  true  idea  of  Provi- 
dence, considered  both  in  its  nature  and  its  extent.  But 
it  should  be  remembered  that  Providence  is  one  thing ; 
the  law  of  Providence  is  another.  Providence  is  God’s 
arrangement  of  things  and  events  in  the  world,  including 
his  constant  supervision.  The  law  of  Providence,  in 
distinction  from  Providence  in  itself  considered,  is  the 
RULE  OF  ACTION,  which  is  Contained  in,  and  which  is 
developed  from,  this  providential  arrangement. 

2.  We  cannot  well  understand  and  appreciate  the 
doctrine  of  the  law  of  Providence  without  some  proper 
view  of  the  mutual  relationship  and  connection  of  things. 
It  was  a maxim  of  the  Schoolmen,  and  is  not  less  a 
maxim  of  nature,  nihil  ex  nihilo  fit.  Everything, 
therefore,  which  exists,  if  it  do  not  have  an  existence 
which  is  eternal  and  independent,  must  come  from  a 
common  source.  Consequently,  there  must  be  some 
common  relationships,  some  common  alliances. 

17 


194 


DIVINE  UNION. 


And  this  is  just  as  true  of  events  which  exist  in  time 
as  of  things  which  exist  in  place.  It  is  true  of  every- 
thing of  which  it  can  he  said,  it  is.  If  God  calls  into 
existence,  or,  in  any  way,  gives  rise  to  certain  things  and 
events  and  establishes  them  in  their  order,  which,  as  a 
‘‘God  of  order,”  he  cannot  fail  to  do,  he  necessarily 
gives  to  them  their  position,  their  relations,  their  rights, 
their  influences.  All  these  are  theirs  by  the  nature  of 
the  case.  They  do  not  make  them  of  themselves,  but 
have  them,  as  it  were,  by  inheritance.  It  is  not  easy  to 
see  how  it  can  be  otherwise.  It  is  a matter  of  necessity, 
although  we  may  properly  make  a distinction  between 
things  and  events  in  some  respects,  that  they  should 
have  their  place  and  relations,  their  appropriate  rights, 
their  appropriate  effects. 

3.  We  will  endeavor  to  illustrate  what  we  mean,  in 
the  first  place,  from  things  which  have  merely  an  ani- 
mate, and  not  a moral,  existence.  Among  the  multi- 
tude of  created  things  that  fill  the  air  and  earth,  behold 
the  feeble  worm  that  makes  its  home  in  the  clod.  God 
has  created  it.  Here  is  a fact,  unimportant  as  it  may 
seem  to  be,  which  makes  a part,  nevertheless,  of  his 
providential  arrangements.  The  fact  of  the  creation  of 
this  worm  involves  the  fact  of  a sphere  of  life ; that  is  to 
say,  an  appropriate  place  of  residence,  and  adequate 
means  of  protection  and  support.  This  little  ahimal 
has  not  only  its  assigned  place  and  its  means  of  protec- 
tion, but  it  has  its  rights  and  claims  also  in  relation  to 
other  beings  ; rights  which  reach  from  the  dust  in  which 
it  crawls  to  the  infinite  throne,  and  are  as  unchangeat  te 
as  immutable  justice.  Infinite  holiness  holds  its  segis 
over  this  Weak  creature.  Continually  the  burning  eye 
of  Jehovah  watches  in  order  to  see  who  invades  its 
sphere,  and  does  it  an  injury.  The  protection  which  is 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


195 


assured  to  it  is  not  measured  by  the  fact  of  its  strength, 
but  by  the  fact  of  its  existence.  God  cannot  create  a 
being  without,  at  the  same  time,  pledging  his  friendship 
to  it.  The  providence  of  God,  therefore,  cannot  place  a 
worm  by  our  side  without  establishing  a code  of  laws 
between  us.  The  traveller,  who  sees  it  crawling  in  the 
dust,  is  obliged  to  turn  aside  his  foot.  The  obligation 
binds  the  tread  of  a king  as  clearly  and  strongly  as  the 
tread  of  a peasant.  He  who  crushes  it  without  a justi- 
fiable cause  violates  the  moral  order  of  things,  and 
tramples  on  the  eternal  will  of  the  Creator. 

4.  Still  more  easily  is  the  subject  illustrated  from 
other  instances,  where  the  rights  of  human  beings  are 
involved.  Not  far  distant  from  a certain  rich  man’s 
residence  is  a very  poor  family.  One  of  its  children  has 
been  infirm  and  helpless  from  birth ; and  nothing  but  the 
aid  of  others,  more  favored  in  their  circumstances,  can 
save  it  from  the  greatest  sufiering.  The  position  of  the 
child,  with  its  wants  and  sufferings,  is  a providence. 
The  duty,  which  devolves  upon  the  rich  man  to  take  an 
interest  in  its  welfare,  and  to  render  it  aid,  is  the  law  of 
Providence.  The  law  is  developed  from  existing  things ; 
but,  as  the  things  existing  are  from  God,  the  law  which 
they  disclose  and  establish  is  from  him  also.  And  he, 
who  will  not  see  a worm  trampled  upon  without  dis- 
pleasure, will  never  see  an  injury  done  to  an  immortal 
being  with  impunity. 

5.  And  it  is  thus  with  everything.  Things  animate 
and  things  inanimate,  things  in  space  and  things  in 
time,  things  said  and  things  done,  all  being  and  all  action, 
in  themselves  and  in  their  relations,  in  their  rights  and 
in  their  influences,  form  a part  of  the  great  system  of 
the  facts  and  arrangements  of  divine  Providence.  Man, 
and  all  the  acts  and  all  the  sufferings  of  which  he  is  the 


196 


DIVINE  UNION. 


source  and  the  subject,  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  this 
great  ocean ; this  great  and  moving  flux  and  reflux  of 
other  men,  and  other  acts,  and  other  suflerings,  and  is 
required  to  be  in  moral  harmony  with  it.  It  is  this 
requisition^  this  rule,  existing  under  these  circumstances, 
which  constitutes  the  providential  law^  — a law  operating 
from  the  external  upon  the  internal ; a law  founded  in 
infinite  wisdom,  just  and  inflexible  in  its  requirements, 
just  and  inflexible  in  its  retributions. 

6.  The  law  of  Providence  coincides  with  the  law  of 
the  Scriptures.  God,  who  speaks  in  Providence  as  well 
as  in  the  Scriptures,  cannot  utter  voices  which,  in  their 
principles  and  claims,  are  discordant  with  each  other. 
We  may  sometimes  fail  in  our  interpretations  of  the 
Scriptures ; we  may  sometimes  attach  a meaning  to  them 
diflerent  from  God’s  meaning;  but  when  the  declaration 
of  God  in  the  Scriptures  is  rightly  understood,  it  will 
always  be  found  to  harmonize  with  his  providential  voice. 
If,  for  instance,  he  requires  us,  in  his  written  law,  to  love 
our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  he  has  also  arranged  in  such 
i manner  the  things  and  relations  which  constitute  his 
providential  law  as  to  make  the  same  requisition.  And 
it  will  be  found  true,  under  the  operation  of  the  divine 
Providence,  that  man  will  and  must  sufier  just  in  pro- 
portion as  he  comes  short  of  that  divine  law  of  love.  It 
will  be  the  same  in  other  similar  instances. 

7.  In  view  of  this  important  subject,  so  far  as  it  has 
now  been  developed,  a number  of  practical  remarks  may 
properly  be  made  here ; and  one  is,  that  it  is  an  important 
part  of  Christian  duty  to  study  God’s  will  in  his  provi- 
dences. We  neither  know  how  to  act,  nor  how  to  feel, 
without  a regard  to  them.  This  remark  is  sufficiently 
bbvio  IS  in  relation  to  action.  It  is  hardly  less  obvious  in 
relation  to  feeling.  For  instance,  a near  friend  dies,  per- 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


197 


haps  a child,  or  brother.  This  is  an  event  in  Providence. 
The  feeling  appropriate  to  it  is  sorrow  ; but,  when  we 
consider  that,  being  an  event  in  Providence,  it  is  an  event 
ordered  in  divine  wisdom,  the  appropriate  feeling  is  not 
only  sorrow,  but  sorrow  mingled  with  acquiescence  and 
patience.  The  law  of  Providence  requires  this  modifi- 
cation of  the  feeling  as  strictly  and  as  truly  as  the  written 
law ; so  that  we  may  lay  it  down  as  a principle,  that  the 
law  of  Providence  must  regulate,  to  a considerable  ex- 
tent, not  only  our  outward  acts,  but  our  affections.  It 
is  Providence  which  places  before  us  the  objects  we 
must  love ; and,  what  is  more,  it  indicates  the  degree  of 
our  love,  and  the  ways  of  its  manifestation.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  same  Providence  indicates  to  us  the 
objects  which  should  excite  our  disapprobation,  and  also 
the  degree  and  manner  of  our  disapprobation. 

8.  Another  remark  is  this.  If  we  are  in  full  harmony 
with  Providence,  we  walk  in  all  things  humbly  and 
softly,  neither  too  slow  nor  too  fast.*  The  light  which 
is  imparted  to  us,  is  given  moment  by  moment.  And  it 
is  the  true  light,  if  our  souls  are  so  far  renovated  into 
the  nature  of  Christ  as  to  be  in  a disposition  to  receive 
it.  It  teaches  us,  not  only  to  work  for  God,  but,  what 
is  hardly  less  important, Jto  work  with  God;  — that  is 
to  say,  in  harmony  with  his  own  wise  and  benevolent 
plans. 

9.  Again,  in  acting  in  accordance  with  Providence, 
we  do  good  without  doing  evil.  No  matter  how  desir- 
able a thing  may  appear  to  be  to  us,  if  the  law  of  Provi- 
dence stands  in  our  way,  it  cannot  be  done.  There  is,  in 
such  a case,  what  is  called  a moral,  in  distinction  from  a 
physical,  impossibility,  because  the  thing  cannot  be  done 
without  violating  other  obligations.  ThBrefore,  we  are 
to  io  the  good  which  we  are  called  to  do  ; in  other  words, 


198 


DIVINE  UNION. 


we  are  to  do  th  j good  which  Providence  allows  and 
requires  us  to  do;  and  then,  and  then  only,  we  do  good 
without  doing  evil.  It  is  desirable  that  those  who  aim 
at  the  highest  results  in  religion,  should  keep  this  in 
mind. 


i 


CHAPTER  III. 


ON  THE  STRICTNESS  OF  THE  RETRIBUTIONS  OF  THE  LAW  OF 
PROVIDENCE. 

Of  the  opinions  which  prevail  on  this  subject.  — Reference  to  physical 
laws.  — Illustrations  of  the  subject  from  civil  and  criminal  laws.  — 
The  providential  law  more  inflexible  in  its  results  than  other  laws. 
— Illustrations  of  this  truth.  — Of  violations  of  Providence  when  the 
motives  are  good.  — Of  the  regulation  of  the  afiections.  — Illustra- 
tions and  remarks. 

In  the  last  chapter  reference  was  made  to  the  inflexi- 
bility of  the  providential  law.  It  is  strict  and  inflexible 
both  in  its  requirements  and  in  its  retributions.  It  has 
in  itself  a power  of  punishment,  which  evil-doers  cannot 
escape. 

This  is  a subject  of  so  much  importance,  that  we 
propose  to  examine  it  further,  and  more  particularly,  in 
this  chapter ; especially  as  the  doctrine  of  a providential 
retribution,  invariably  inflicted,  is  not  generally  received. 
It  does  not  appear  to  be  the  common  opinion. 

2.  There,  seems  to  be  good  reason  for  saying,  that 
common  opinion,  founded  upon  the  general  experience^ 
assents  to  the  strictness  and  inflexibility  of  the  action  of 
physical  laws.  If  a man,  for  instance,  thrusts  his  hand 
into  the  Are,  we  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  be  burned, 
If  he  plunges  himself  into  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  we  are 
confident  that  he  will  be  drowned.  If  he  throws  himself 
down  a rocky  eminence,  we  naturally  expect  that  he 
will  be  dashed  to  pieces.  The  result,  secured  by  known 
and  inflexible  physical  laws,  is  considered  certain. 


200 


DIVINE  UNION. 


It  may  be  added,  that  common  opinion  attaches  the 
same  idea  of  strictness  and  inflexibility  to  the  action  of 
laws  instituted  by  civil  governments.  If  a man,  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  the  land,  takes  another’s  property,  it 
is  generally  regarded  as  a matter  of  certainty  that  punish- 
ment will  overtake  him.  If  a man  strikes  another,  the 
law,  without  regard  to  his  position  in  society,  or  even 
his  penitence,  strikes  him  in  return.  Fines,  stripes, 
stocks,  prisons,  show  how  inflexible  is  the  arm  of  civil 
and  criminal  justice. 

But  it  does  not  appear  to  be  the  common  opinion  that 
the  retributions  of  the  providential  law  are  equally  strict, 
equally  inflexible.  The  tendency  is,  partly  because  its 
modes  of  operation  are  less  obvious  to  the  senses,  to  look 
upon  Providence  as  a lenient  master,  who  generally  de- 
fers punishment,  who  punishes  slightly  at  most,  and 
sometimes  not  at  all.  But  this  is  a mistake.  The  provi- 
dential law  is  as  strict  in  its  operation  as  the  others,  and 
even  more  so.  It  is  possible,  certainly,  that  natural  laws 
may  be  suspended  in  their  operation,  and  may  fail.  The 
penalty  of  the  civil  and  criminal  laws  may  sometimes  be 
evaded.  But  the  retributions  of  the  providential  law,  (a 
law  modified  in  its  application  by  the  incident  of  existiqg 
facts  and  events,  but  always  founded  on  the  principles 
of  eternal  right  and  wrong,)  can  never  be  annulled,  can 
never  be  escaped. 

3.  If  the  providence  of  God  has  brought  together  a 
rich  and  a poor  man,  under  such  circumstances  that  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  the  rich  man  to  aid  the  poor,  and  he 
refuses  to  do  it,  it  is  impossible  for  him,  in  any  way, 
except  by  sincere  repentance,  to  escape  the  penalty  of 
his  wrong-doing.  He  will  ask,  perhaps,  why  he  was 
bound  to  support  or  aid  the  poor  man  more  than  an- 
other? Th3  answer  is,  it  was  not  necessary  that  all 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


201 


sho  ild  confer  their  benevolence  at  the  same  time ; and 
the  law  of  Providence,  operating  in  connection  with  the 
existing  facts  in  the  case,  made  its  selection,  and  the  lot 
fell  upon  him.  The  fact  that  Providence  had  given  him 
a particular  location,  involved  also  the  assignment  of  a 
particular  duty.  In  refusing  to  perform  that  duty,  he  has 
exposed  himself  to  a penalty.  When  or  where  it  will 
come,  he  cannot  foresee;  but  its  terrible  advent  is  inev- 
itable in  its  appointed  time. 

A man  has  a .family,  or  is  in  some  way  connected 
with  one.  He  is  a father,  brother,  husband,  or  son. 
Perhaps  he  sustains  all  these  important  relations  at  once. 
He  has  a moral  nature ; and  Providence,  which  makes 
all  these  arrangements,  has  assigned  and  settled  his 
position.  Out  of  his  moral  nature  and  the  position  which 
is  thus  assigned  him,  is  developed  the  obligation  or  law 
of  specific  duty.  We  properly  denominate  it,  in  this  case, 
as  in  others,  the  providential  law.  As  a father,  brother, 
husband,  or  son,  he  has  duties  to  perform,  which  would 
not  be  binding  upon  him  if  he  were  not  placed  in  that 
particular  situation.  If  he  fails  in  those  duties,  whatever 
their  nature,  and  whether  the  failure  be  more  or  less,  he 
incurs  a penalty,  which  may  not  be  particularly  noticed 
or  felt  at  the  time,  but  from  which  there  is  and  can  be 
no  escape. 

There  is  no  apparent  administration.  There  is  nothing 
exterior,  nothing  seen.  No  judge  is  seated  on  the  bench 
of  justice.  No  audible  sentence  is  pronounced.  No  prison 
doors  are  shut  or  opened.  No  sword  is  uplifted.  And 
yet  the  blow  falls,  — reaching  always  the  precise  centre 
of  its  object,  — the  sharper  for  being  invisible ; as  inflexi- 
bly certain  in  its  movement  and  its  results  as  the  decrees 
of  infinite  wisdom. 

4.  We  proceed  now  to  a remark  of  no  small  impor- 


202 


DIVINE  UNION. 


taiice.  The  strictness  of  the  providential  law  is  such, 
that  the  penalty  attending  a violation  5f  it  will  be  experi- 
enced, whether  the  object  which  we  had  in  view  in  our 
conduct  be  good  or  evil.  In  other  words,  God,  as  the 
administrator  of  Providence,  will  punish  us  for  actions, 
originating  in  a good  motive,  if  that  motive  has  been 
exercised  without  a careful  regard  to  the  facts  in  the 
case.  * 

If  a father,  for  instance,  from  the  impulse  of  benevolent 
parental  feeling,  gives  a large  amount  of  property  to  a 
son,  who  obviously  has  no  capacity  and  no  heart  to 
manage  it  aright,  he  violates  a providential  law,  by 
attempting  to  unite  things  which  are  incompatible,  and 
the  most  painful  results  will  sooner  or  later  ensue.  If  a 
benevolent  man  has  a poor  but  very  vicious  neighbor, 
and,  without  any  suitable  reflections  upon  the  matter, 
bestows  upon  him  liberal  donations,  he  obviously  does  a 
wrong  thing,  although  he  may  have  meant  it  right.  He 
thus  sets  himself,  perhaps  without  any  speciflc  inten- 
tions of  that  nature,  in  opposition  to  the  providential 
design ; and  is  found  in  the  ruinous  situation  of  one  who 
is  flghting  against  God.  God  knows  what  is  best.  He 
sees  that,  to  the  vicious  man,  who  expends  his  wealth 
upon  his  lusts,  poverty,  yea,  extreme  poverty^  is  the  best 
riches. 

6.  It  should  never  be  forgotten,  that  a good  motive, 
however  kindly  and  highly  it  may  be  appreciated,  does 
not  constitute  a right  action  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term,  unless  the  action  can  be  spoken  of  and  regarded  as 
right  in  the  circumstances  actually  existing.  It  is  a 
very  important  principle,  therefore,  especially  in  its  con- 
nection with  the  higher  forms  of  religious  experience, 
that  we  ought  with  care  to  watch  over  even  our  good 
desires,  and  to  bring  them  under  a strict  regulation.  Our 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


203 


good  desires,  our  good  intentions,  will  not  save  ourselves 
or  others  from  evil,  if  we  contemplate  and  carry  into 
effect  objects  which  are  out  of  the  divine  order. 

The  instances  which  have  already  been  given,  help  to 
illustrate  the  subject.  Very  many  others  will  readily 
occur.  A monarch,  for  instance,  in  the  largeness  of  his. 
heart,  proposes  the  immediate  and  entire  liberation  of 
his  people,  notwithstanding  they  are  obviously  unpre- 
pared for  it.  But  in  thus  doing  an  act,  which,  under 
Other  circumstances,  would  be  highly  commendable,  he 
pnly  places  in  the  nation’s  hand  a sword  to  be  plunged 
into  its  own  vitals.  His  good  intentions  will  not  shield 
him  from  responsibility.  Subjecting  his  benevolence  to 
the  dictates  of  deliberation  and  wisdom,  he  should  have 
first  made  his  gift,  not  to  freedom,  but  to  the  preparation 
for  freedom. 

7.  And  these  remarks  will  apply,  not  to  one  merely, 
but  to  all  the  purest  and  holiest  affections  of  our  nature. 
Such  affections  are  always  good  and  commendable  in 
themselves ; but,  in  the  manner  and  degree  of  their  exer- 
cise, they  are  necessarily  subjected  to  the  law  of  time, 
place,  and  object.  It  is  certainly  commendable  and 
right,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  to  enter- 
tain feelings  of  kindness  and  compassion  for  those  who 
suffer.  But  it  is  not  commendable  and  right,  at  all 
times  and  under  all  circumstances,  to  attempt  to  relieve 
that  suffering.  And  the  reason  is,  that  God,  in  his  wise 
providence,  has  seen  fit  to  impose  suffering.  Suffering, 
therefore,  has  its  own,  its  appropriate  work  to  do.  And 
mere  human  pity  cannot  interfere  with  these  providential 
intentions,  without  committing  great  error,  and  without 
experiencing  a retribution  on  itself. 

8.  We  may,  perhaps,  deduce  an  illustration  of  the 
strictness  of  the  law  of  Providence  from  the  law  of 


204 


DIVINE  UNION. 


nature.  We  all  know  that  if  our  action  — that  of  the 
husbandman,  for  instance  — does  not  conform  to  the  law 
of  physical  nature,  it  has  no  reward,  hut  is  the  occasion 
of  loss.  Accordingly,  we  never  exhibit  the  folly  of 
scattering  our  wheat  and  corn  on  the  frozen  clods  of 
autumn  and  on  the  snowbanks  of  winter,  because  we 
know  that  it  is  entirely  useless,  and  worse  than  useless, 
to  anticipate,  as  we  should  thus  do,  the  preparations  of 
nature.  Whatever  we  may  do,  we  shall  always  find, 
if  we  would  do  it  with  any  good  results,  that  God  must 
go  first,  and  strike  the  first  blow.  Our  business  is,  both 
in  connection  with  the  works  of  nature,  and  in  morals 
and  religion,  to  act  concurrerdly^  to  follow  him,  and, 
without  running  before  him,  to  strive  to  be  co-workers 
Avith  him.  It  is  with  this  great  practical  religious  prin- 
ciple in  view,  that  the  Saviour  says,  ^‘Give  not  that 
which  is  holy  to  the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls 
before  swine,  lest  they  trample  them  under  their  feet, 
and  turn  again  and  rend  you.’^  It  is  this  principle,  also, 
which  is  the  foundation  of  the  important  remark  of  the 
apostle  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  ^^Let  not,  then, 
your  good  be  evil  spoken  of.’’^^ 

9.  We  return,  therefore,  to  the  great  truth,  which  we 
wish  to  be  left  deeply  impressed  upon  the  mind  ; namely, 
that  we  can  neither  do  good  nor  evil,  irrespective  of  the 
law  of  Providence,  without  incurring  guilt,  and  without 
experiencing  a painful  retribution.  And  this  retribution, 
although  it  may  scarcely  be  noticed  at  first,  and  although 
it  may  be  delayed  for  a long  time,  is  as  certain  and  irre- 
sistible, with  the  single  excepticfn  of  cases  of  timely 
repentance,  as  the  existence  of  God  himself. 

Even  the  man  who  stands  in  the  divine  order,  and  is 
a co-worker  with  God,  is  not,  in  the  present  state  of 


* Rom.  14  : 16. 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE.  205 

things,  exempt  from  trouble.  Perhaps  it  is  for  this  very 
thing  God  has  placed  him  where  he  is ; namely,  that 
sorrow,  in  its  various  forms,  that  rebuke,  and  evil-speak- 
ing, and  loss  of  earthly  goods,  and  other  temporal  evils, 
may  come  upon  him,  and,  in  the  fire  of  their  consuming 
contact,  destroy  the  dross  that  still  adheres  to  his  soul. 
But  standing,  as  he  does,  with  God  before  him  as  his 
guide,  and  therefore  in  the  way  of  God’s  appointment, 
he  will  in  the  end  come  off  victorious.  But,  for  him  who 
stands  out  of  the  divine  order,  and  who  opposes  the  weak 
shield  of  human  strength  to  God’s  irreversible  arrange- 
ments, there  is  no  help.  The  chariot  wheels  of  th« 
Almighty  will  pass  over  him  and  grind  him  to  powder. 

18 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OF  PROVIDENCE  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  MAN’s  SITUATION  IN  LIFE.  • 

Providence  designates  our  situation  in  life.  — Of  the  difference  in  our 
allotment.  — God  assigns  our  place,  but  leaves  to  us  the  dispositions 
with  which  we  shall  receive  it.  — The  position  of  Providence  our 
true  home.  — Also  the  only  true  place  of  safety.  — Of  inward  retire- 
ment, or  solitude. 

That  divine  superintendence,  which  is  denominated 
Providence,  extends  not  only  to  every  individual,  but  to 
all  that  pertains  to  every  individual ; including,  among 
other  things,  all  the  various  circumstances  and  situa- 
tions of  his  life.  Without  delaying  its  operation  for  a 
single  day,  it  indicates  man’s  locality  in  the  very  begin- 
ning of  his  existence.  In  combination  with  the  natural 
or  physical  law,  which  is  its  instrument,  it  places  him  in 
the  cradle,  under  the  eye  of  his  father  and  mother. 
Helpless,  but  not  unprotected,  it  is  the  watchful  hand  of 
Providence,  using  more  or  less  of  earthly  instrumentality, 
which  feeds  him,  clothes  him,  teaches  him.  It  is  Provi- 
dence, also,  as  he  exchanges  childhood  for  youth,  and 
thus  gradually  enlarges  the  boundaries  of  his  habitation, 
which  scatters  both  thorns  and  flowers  m his  path  * — 
the  one  to  cheer  him  to  activity  and  duty,  and  the  other 
to  warn  him  of  danger,  and  to  deter  him  from  sin.  From 
the  early  locality  of  the  cradle  and  the  parental  hearth, 
from  the  lines  drawn  around  him  by  the  domestic  circle 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


207 


where  he  is  first  placed,  he  never  moves  a step,  he  never 
goes,  and  never  can  go,  rightfully  and  safely,  except  by 
divine  permission. 

2.  It  is  one  of  the  first  principles  in  the  doctrines  of 
lioliness,  that  men  should  remain  patiently  and  quietly 
Adhere  God  has  placed  them,  until  they  receive  from 
himself  the  intimations  of  departure.  It  was  thus  that 
Jesus  grew  up  in  the  humble  retirement  of  a carpenter’s 
family,  a brother  among  brothers  and  sisters,  obeying 
his  parents  in  love,  eating  and  drinking  at  their  common 
table,  sympathizing  in  their  joys  and  sorrows,  laboring 
daily  with  those  who  were  brought  up  in  the  same  form 
of  labor,  and  regarding  the  yoke  of  his  earthly  position 
as  entirely  light  and  easy,  because  it  was  the  yoke  of  his 
heavenly  Father’s  providence.  He  remained  there  till 
that  unerring  Providence,  arranging  around  him  other 
circumstances,  and  arousing  within  him  desires  corre- 
sponding to  those  circumstances,  led  him  forth  from  the 
quiet  home  of  Mary  and  Joseph,  to  the  trials  and  duties 
of  a new  position,  — to  persecution  and  death.  How 
different  was  his  conduct  from  that  of  the  rebellious  and 
unhappy  youth  of  whom  he  has  given  an  account  in  one 
of  his  affecting  parables ! The  prodigal  son,  in  the  pride 
of  self- wisdom  and  self-will,  demanded  his  share  of  his 
father’s  goods  before  the  time,  which  Avas  rapidly  draw- 
ing nigh,  when  the  arrangements  of  ProAudence  Avould 
have  freely  offered  them.  As  he  went  forth  in  viola- 
tion of  the  providential  law,  which  required  him  to  wait 
till  a later  period,  he  went  forth  without  the  presence 
and  approbation  of  the  God  of  providence,  and  found,  in 
the  famine  and  wretchedness  of  a distant  land,  that  sure 
retribution  which  always  follows  any  movement  made 
in  our  OAvn  strength  and  choice. 

3.  The  first  position,  then,  in  which  man  is  placed 


208 


DIVINE  UNION. 


by  Him  who  overrules  all  things  in  goodness,  is  that  of 
dependence  and  guardianship  within  the  limits  of  the 
family  circle.  Gradually  the  hand  of  Providence  opens 
the  door,  and  he  goes  out;  but  it  is  only  into  another 
department,  or,  perhaps  we  should  say,  into  another  line 
of  demarcation,  drawn  by  One  who  is  invisible.  As  the 
child  advances  to  youth,  and  from  youth  to  manhood, 
and  as  he  acquires  the  wisdom  of  maturer  age  and  the 
increased  strength  of  virtue,  he  is  invited,  under  the 
guidance  of  that  unseen  Power,  who  proportions  our  trials 
to  our  strength,  to  different  and  perhaps  more  responsible 
scenes  and  duties.  The  hand,  which  at  first  restricted 
him  to  his  father’s  home,  and  prescribed  its  limited  duties, 
now  points  him  to  a wider  sphere  of  endurance  and 
action,  as  well  as  of  joy  and  sorrow.  Hidden  in  the  vast 
and  impenetrable  future,  no  one  can  tell  beforehand  what 
that  sphere  will  be.  He  may  be  called  to  labor  in  the 
field  or  the  workshop,  and,  with  his  shepherd’s  stafi*  or 
his  plough,  he  maybe  either  the  master  or  the  servant. 
He  may  be  employed  as  the  humble  teacher  of  children 
in  ttie  elements  of  knowledge,  or  may  be  constituted  a 
lawgiver  in  the  halls  of  a national  legislature.  He  may 
be  the  physician  of  the  sick,  and  eminent  in  the  gifts  of 
healing,  or  he  may  himself  be  the  inmate  of  a hospital, 
and  be  administered  to  by  others,  through  long  years  of 
pain  and  despondency.  To-day  he  is  on  a throne,  — to- 
morrow in  a prison. 

4.  Men,  it  is  true,  are  often  disposed  to  quarrel  with 
God’s  providential  arrangements.  And  the  reason  is, 
that  the  doctrine  of  providence  implies  that,  in  all  situa- 
tions, there  is  a God  above  and  around  us.  But,  how- 
ever humbling  the  doctrine  of  special  providenge  is  to 
human  pride  and  human  reason,  the  simple  and  sublime 
fact  still  remains.  God  makes  us,  and  God  places  us 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE.  209 

In  the  language  of  Scripture,  A man’s  heart  deviseth 
his  way ; hut  the  Lord  directeth  his  stepsJ^  The  hand  of  a 
higher  power  has  marked  out  the  lines  of  our  habitation. 
He  builds  up  one,  and  casts  down  another.  It  does  not 
depend  upon  man’s  talents,  nor  upon  his  education,  nor 
upon  his  wealth,  nor  upon  his  friends,  nor  upon  any- 
thing else  that  is  human,  what  he  shall  be,  or  whether, 
in  the  worldly  sense  of  the  term,  he  shall  be  anything ; 
where  he  shall  go,  or  whether  he  shall  go  anywhere; 
hut  upo7i  God  alone, 

God  makes  the  arrangement;  but  the  disposition  with 
which  we  shall  receive  that  arrangement,  he  leaves  to 
ourselves.  And  let  this  satisfy  us.  In  every  arrange- 
ment which  he  makes,  his  aim  is  our  highest  good ; but 
whether  it  will  result  in  our  highest  good,  depends  upon 
the  spirit  in  which  we  accept  it.  He  never  violates 
our  moral  liberty ; and  if,  in  the  exercise  of  that  liberty, 
we  put  our  thoughts  and  our  feelings  in  his  keeping,  he 
will  give  a heart  so  correspondent  to  our  habitation,  that 
our  cottage  will  be  beautiful  in  our  sight  as  a palace,  and 
the  darkness  of  our  dungeon  as  bright  as  the  open  day. 

5.  In  connection  with  what  has  been  said,  there  are 
a number  of  remarks  yet  remaining  to  be;  made.  And 
one  is,  that  the  enclosure  of  Providence,  the  place  of  his 
habitation  which  God  has  chosen  for  him,  is  a man’s 
only  true  home.  There  is  no  other;  there  can  be  no 
other.  Let  no  sigh  arise  from  his  bosom;  let  no  tear 
escape  him,  because  his  dwelling  place,  rough-hewn, 
perhaps,  and  built  upon  the  rocks,  is  less  beautiful  than 
his  neighbor’s.  Of  one  it  can  be  said,  “ His  lines  have 
fallen  to  him  in  pleasant  places,  and  he  has  a goodly 
heritage.”  Of  another  it  can  be  said,  with  equal  truth, 
“ His  house  is  left  to  him  desolate.”  Nevertheless,  if  he 
stands  within  the  demarcations  of  Providence,  he  occupies 
18* 


210 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  place  which  the  highest  wisdom  could  design  for  him; 
he  stands  in  his  own  true  home,  and  he  has  no  other. 

6.  Another  remark  is,  that  the  position  of  Providence 
is  the  onl7  place  of  safety.  It  is  not  safe  for  man,  in 
violation,  of  God’s  arrangements,  to  move  beyond  the  line 
which  God  has  marked  out  for  him.  It  is  not  safe  for 
him  to  have  the  smallest  desire  to  go  beyond  it,  or  even 
to  cast  a look  beyond  it.  Beyond  this  high  and  real 
barrer,  — real  though  erected  by  an  unseen  hand  and 
invisible  to  the  outward  sight,  — there  are  temporal  and, 
perhaps,  spiritual  riches,  which  are  not  ours,  and  which 
we  are  not  allowed  to  reach  after.  The  Avealth  which  is 
beyond  that  line  is  destined  for  the  possession  of  others. 
The  crown  of  earthly  honors  which  shines  beyond  that 
limit  is  not  destined  for  our  heads.  Public  religious 
instructions,  no  matter  how  rich  and  how  true,  which 
are  given  by  religious  teachers  beyond  that  limit,  are 
designed  for  others,  and  not  for  us.  Even  the  private 
society  of  religious  persons,  however  devoted  they  may 
be,  is  interdicted  when  it  can  be  had  only  in  violation 
of  the  divine  limits.  We  must  thus  sacrifice  the  richest 
privileges  and  gifts,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  to  the 
arrangements  of  Providence,  in  order  that  we  may  retain 
and  enjoy,  what  is  infinitely  more  valuable,  the  God  of 
Providence, 

Keep  with  God  in  God’s  place,  and  thou  shalt  not 
only  find  inward  riches,  but  inward  and  outward  safety. 
The  lines  drawn  around  us  by  the  providential  law, 
constitute  a “holy  city,”  a “new  Jerusalem,”  to  those 
who  dwell  in  it  in  faith,  and  who  take  God  as  their 
everlasting  light.  To  such,  contented  with  their  allot- 
ment, whatever  may  be  its  temporal  aspects,  God  will 
never  fail  to  yield  his  presence  and  protection.  “Only 
oelieve.” 

7.  Another  remark  to  be  made  is  this.  In  order  to 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


211 


ket  p the  mind  in  that  spiritual  seclusion  which  is  im- 
plisd  in  being  truly  united  with  God,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  we  should  quit  our  ordinary  duties,  and  separate 
from  our  fellow-men.  If  the  solitary  places  of  forests 
and  mountains  are  not  interdicted,  it  is  certain  that  they 
are  not  absolutely  necessary.  The  man  is  in  the  true 
seclusion,  the  true  spiritual  retirement,  who  is  shut  up 
in  the  inclosures  of  Providence,  with  willingness  and  joy 
in  being  so.  When  we  are  in  harmony  with  Providence, 
we  are  in  harmony  with  God ; and  harmony  with  God 
implies  all  that  seclusion  from  the  world  which  is  neces- 
sary. This  is  the  true  solitude.  In  its  external  forms 
it  may  be  more  or  less.  It  may  restrict  us  to  the  limits 
of  a sick  chamber ; it  may  compress  us  within  the  walls 
of  a prison ; it  may  lead  us  for  a time  to  the  most  retired 
and  lonely  place  of  meditation  and  worship ; or  it  may 
allow  us,  on  the  other  hand,  the  widest  range  of  business 
and  intercourse,  and  mingle  us  with  the  largest  multi- 
tudes of  men.  But,  whether  its  lines  are  stricter  or 
more  expanded,  it  is  the  true  solitude,  the  place  of  retire- 
ment which  God  has  chosen,  the  select  and  untrodden 
hermitage  where  the  soul^  may  find  and  delight  itself 
with  its  Beloved. 

8.  In  connection  with  the  general  views  of  this  chap- 
ter, and  the  particular  suggestions  which  naturally  arise 
from  them,  we  are  reminded  of  the  statements,  often 
occurring  in  experimental  writers,  that  the  truly  godly 
person  is  exempt  from  desire.  The  meaning  is,  that 
such  a person  is  exempt  from  perverted  or  unholy  desire. 
And  the  form  of  expression  arises  from  the  fact,  that  his 
desires  so  perfectly  harmonize  with  the  divine  arrange- 
ments, and  are  so  perfectly  met  in  the  occurrences  of 
each  moment,  that  he  is  hardly  conscious  of  their  exist- 
ence. It  is  the  same  thing  as  to  be  in  perfect  harmony 
with  Providence. 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON  THE  WISDOM  AND  GOODNESS  OF  GOD,  AS  DISPLAYED  IN  HIS 
PROVIDENTIAL  ARRANGEMENTS. 

The  arrangements  of  Providence  often  mysterious.  — Their  wisdom 
and  goodness  visible  only  to  the  eye  of  faith.  — Illustrations  of  the 
subject.  — Reference  to  the  history  of  Moses.  — Illustrations  from 
profane  history.  — Reference  to  Bunyan  and  Milton.  — Remarks. 

Some  of  the  views  of  the  last  chapter  admit  of  further 
illustrations.  We  have  seen  that  the  allotments  of  men 
in  the  present  life,  like  things  in  external  and  material 
nature,  are  exceedingly  diversified.  And  it  must  be 
admitted  that,  to  human  view,  these  diversities  are 
oftentimes  mysterious.  It  is  not  easy  for  men  to  see  — 
certainly  not  in  all  cases  — the  wisdom  of  that  arrange- 
ment which  makes  one  poor,  and  another  rich ; which 
confines  one  to  a particular  spot,  but  enlarges  and  diver- 
sifies the  habitation  of  another;  which  places  one  on  a 
throne,  another  in  a dungeon.  It  should  not  be  for- 
gotten, however,  that  it  is  God  who  does  it  all;  and,  to 
the  eye  of  faith,  everything  which  he  does  is  full  of 
wisdom  and  goodness,  however  it  may  appear  to  those 
who  see  only  with  human  wisdom. 

2.  In  one  of  the  retired  streets  of  yonder  city  there 
lives  an  honest  and  laborious  mechanic.  His  daily  walk 
is  limited  by  the  few  rods  which  separate  his  house  from 
his  workshop.  Arrived  at  his  place  of  labor  in  the  morn- 
ing, he  toils  from  morning  till  night  within  the  limited 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


213 


space  of  a few  feet  in  circumference.  From  day  to  day, 
and  from  year  to  year,  the  muscles  of  his  arm  are  lifted 
at  the  same  anvil,  or  are  turning  at  the  same  wheel.  An 
unseen  hand,  which  is  acquainted  with  all  localities,  has 
drawn  the  lines  around  him,  and  planted  him  there  for 
life.  He  is  a prisoner,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  in  the 
Lord’s  captivity.  But  it  would  be  a sad  mistake,  if  he 
should  suppose  that  this  providential  arrangement  is  in- 
stituted without  wisdom  and  without  goodness.  Though 
he  will  probably  never  wander  beyond  those  narrow 
boundaries,  yet  that  place,  of  all  the  places  in  the  uni- 
verse, is  the  best  one  for  him.  We  do  not  say  it  appears 
best  to  human  wisdom,  which  is  incapable  of  judging, 
but  is  best  in  the  view  of  Him  who  has  assigned  it. 
Happy  will  it  be  for  him  if  he  does  not  doubt.  Believing 
that  He  who  has  given  him  life  has  constituted  his  habi- 
tation, let  it  be  his  aim  to  harmonize  his  feelings  with  his 
position,  and  thus  the  principle  of  faith,  whatever  view 
the  world  may  take  of  him,  will  make  him  a happy 
child  in  his  Father’s  house. 

3.  In  early  life  I was  acquainted  with  a woman,  a 
resident  of  the  village  of  my  youth,  whose  memory  is 
recalled  by  these  considerations.  In  her  earlier  — I will 
not  say  her  better  — days,  she  held  a leading  position  in 
society,  to  which  she  seemed  to  be  Avell  entitled  by  great 
excellence  and  intelligence  of  character,  as  well  as  by 
wealth.  In  the  alternations  and  reverses  of  the  times, 
her  property  was  entirely  lost;  her  husband  died:  all 
her  near  relatives  died  also,  or  were  scattered  abroad, 
and  she  was  .eft  Bntirely  alone.  She  was  supported  in 
her  old  age  at  the  public  expense ; but,  out  of  respect  to 
her  character,  the  town  authorities  permitted  her  to  oc- 
cupy a single  room  in  the  house  which  she  had  formerly 
owned.  At  the  time  I became  acquainted  with  her,  she 


214 


DIVINE  UNION. 


was  nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  and  had  long  becjn 
unable  to  leave  her  room  without  assistance.  But  she 
was  far  from  supposing  that  God,  in  depriving  her  of 
friends  and  property,  and  in  confining  her  in  her  old  age 
to  these  narrow  limits,  was  unkind.  Her  constant  com- 
panions were  her  Bible  and  a few  o]d  books  on  practical 
and  experimental  religion.  She  had  faith.  No  complaint 
escaped  from  her  lips.  In  the  walls  of  her  little  room  she 
felt  herself  far  more  closely  and  lovingly  encircled  by  the 
arms  of  her  heavenly  Father,  than  if  she  had  been  left 
in  the  greatest  enlargements  of  society.  A plant  in  the 
Lord’s  garden,  closely  hemmed  in,  but  diligently  nur- 
tured, she  resembled  that  patriarch,  who  is  described  as 
‘‘  a fruitful  bough,  whose  branches  run  over  the  walV^ 

4.  The  Bible  is  full  of  instances  and  illustrations  of 
the  subject.  The  patriarch  Moses,  in  particular,  furnishes 
us  a lesson  in  relation  to  it.  Such  were  the  arrange- 
ments of  God’s  providence,  that  he  found  it  necessary  to 
quit  the  aspiring  hopes  which  he  had  once  entertained 
of  being  the  immediate  deliverer  of  his  people,  and  to 
flee  from  the  splendid  court  of  Pharaoh  into  the  deserts 
of  Arabia  Petrsea.  For  forty  years  he  tended  his  flocks 
in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Sinai,  exchanging  the  palaces 
of  Egypt  for  a rude  home  in  the  distant  and  solitary 
rocks.  Undoubtedly  it  seemed  very  mysterious  to  Moses 
that  he  should  thus  be  dealt  with.  He  did  not  then 
understand  that  God,  in  thus  leading  him  into  the  wil- 
derness, and  making  him  acquainted  with  the  vast  desert 
between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea,  was  preparing  him 
for  the  dangerous  task  of  being  a leader  of  his  people 
through  these  very  deserts  and  mountains. 

But  this  was  not  all.  His  manners  and  intellect  had 
been  trained  in  the  court  of  the  Pharaohs;  but  God, 
who  is  a greater  teacher  than  kings,  saw  it  necessary 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


215 


that  his  spirit  should  lie  disciplined  and  trained  in  the 
■Vvilderness.  It  was  there  that  he  learned,  more  fully 
than  he  had  ever  understood  it  before,  the  lesson  of  a 
present  and  special  Providence.  Taken  from  the  bul- 
rushes and  placed  in  a palace,  and  then  taken  from  a 
palace  and  placed  for  forty  years  in  a lonely  desert,  he 
felt  deeply  that  God  selects  and  arranges  the  habitations 
of  men;  and  that  it  is  man’s  great  business,  submitting 
on  religious  principles  to  the  arrangements  of  Provi- 
dence, to  harmonize  his  inward  state  with  his  outward 
situation. 

And,  besides  that,  he  wanted  all  this  time  and  all  this 
solitariness  of  place,  in  order  to  break  up  his  early  and 
unfavorable  associations,  to  chasten  and  subdue  his  nat- 
ural pride,  and  to  imbibe  that  wise  and  gentle  quietude 
of  spirit  which  is  one  of  the  surest  signs  of  a soul  that 
dwells  with  God. 

5.  It  was  in  the  prisons  of  Egypt  that  Joseph  received 
that  discipline  which  fitted  him  to  be  the  great  Egyptian 
ruler.  It  was  when  he  was  tending  his  father’s  fiocks 
in  Bethlehem,  or  when  he  was  driven  into  mountains 
and  caverns,  that  the  hand  and  soul  of  David  were 
trained  and  strengthened  to  the  great  task  of  holding  a 
nation’s  sceptre.  Daniel  was  taught  of  God  in  the  lion’s 
den ; and  Paul  was  aided  in  learning  the  great  lesson  of 
entire  dependence,  when  he  could  find  no  escape  from 
persecution,  and  perhaps  from  death,  but  by  being  let 
down  by  a basket  over  the  wall  of  Damascus. 

6.  Profane  history,  also,  as  well  as  the  Bible,  furnishes 
illustrations  of  the  subject.  Along  the  streets  of  the  city 
of  Bedford,  in  England,  the  poor  and  illiterate  preacher, 
John  Bunyan,  is  conducted  to  prison.  Years  roll  on;  to 
human  appearance  all  his  earthly  prospects  are  cut  ofif ; 
he  has  no  books  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Bible 


216 


DIVINE  UNION. 


and  the  Lives  of  the  Martyrs.  Had  he  not  been  im- 
prisoned, he  would  have  lived  and  died,  as  do  many 
other  men,  known  perhaps,  and  useful,  within  the  limits 
of  a single  town,  and  for  a single  generation.  But, 
shut  up  in  prison,  and  cut  off  from  worldly  plans,  God 
was  enabled  to  work  in  him,  in  his  own  wonderful 
way,  and  to  guide  his  mind  to  other  and  higher  issues. 
It  was  there  he  wrote  that  remarkable  work,  the  Pil- 
grim’s Progress.  Had  his  enemies  not  been  allowed  to 
prevail  against  him,  it  probably  would  not  have  been 
written.  It  was  thus  that  God  turned  that  which  was 
designed  for  evil  into  good.  It  was  a wisdom  higher 
than  man’s  wisdom,  which  shut  up  the  pilgrim  himself 
in  prison.  The  Pilgrim’s  Progress,  which  was  the  re- 
sult of  the  imprisonment  of  the  pilgrim  whose  progress 
it  describes,  free  as  the  winds  of  heaven,  goes  from  house 
to  house,  knocks  at  every  heart,  teaches  all  classes,  visits 
all  nations. 

7.  Nearly  at  the  same  time  with  the  pious  individual 
to  whom  we  have  just  referred,  there  lived  in  England 
another  person,  whose  extraordinary  powers  of  intellect 
and  imagination  were  developed  and  cultivated  in  the 
best  institutions  of  that  country.  In  the  revolutionary 
contests  of  that  period,  his  pen,  exuberant  with  the 
riches  of  thought  and  eloquence,  was  frequently  em- 
ployed with  great  effect.  He  became  blind.  The  sun, 
the  pleasant  sky,  the  societies  of  men,  were  all  shut  out 
from  him.  These  eyes,”  he  says  in  one  of  the  sonnets 
written  in  his  blindness, 

“ Bereft  of  light,  their  seeing  have  forgot ; 

Nor  to  their  idle  orbs  doth  sight  appear 
Of  sun,  or  moon,  or  stars,  throughout  the  year, 

Or  man  or  woman.” 

He  was,  indeed,  in  a dark  and  solitary  place ; but  it 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


217 


was  God,  who,  in  the  administration  of  his  providence, 
constructed  it  for  him.  And  there,  in  what  seemed  to 
the  world  a lonely  prison-house,  the  light  of  the  soul 
grew  bright  in  the  darkness  of  the  body ; and  he  wrote 
the  Paradise  Lost.  In  the  enlargements  of  his  own  will, 
when  he  went  where  he  chose  to  go,  he  gave  his  powers, 
loo  great  to  be  thus  limited,  to  a party ; but,  in  what  may 
be  termed  the.  solitude  and  captivity  of  God,  he  gave 
himself  to  religion  and  to  mankind. 

8.  Wisdom  can  never  be  separated  from  providence, 
nor  can  goodness.  And  the  darker  the  providence,  the 
greater  the  wisdom.  Souls  that  are  formea  ^or  great  and 
good  purposes  are  so  especially  the  objects  of  ki  'evidence 
in  its  most  mysterious  arrangements,  that  they  may  be 
called,  with  scarcely  a metaphorical  use  of  the  expres- 
sion, the  prisoners  of  God,  For  reasons  which  are 
perfectly  known  only  to  himself,  they  are  hedged  in  by 
him  on  every  side.  He  does  with  them  what  he  thinks 
best;  and  he  does  not  allow  them,  in  the  exercise  of 
their  own  wisdom,  to  think  what  is  best  for  themselves, 
because  he  intends  to  make  them  the  subjects  of  his 
teachings,  as  well  as  the  instruments  of  his  own  designs. 
The  way  in  which  he  leads  them  is  not  only  a narrow 
one,  and  built  up  with  walls  on  every  side,  but  is  often 
precipitous,  and,  to  human  sight,  full  of  dangers.  But 
out  of  that  road  they  find,  if  they  follow  the  true  light, 
they  have  no  liberty  to  go ; and  in  it  they  must  receive, 
not  what  they  might  choose,  but  what  God  sees  fit  to 
give  them.  He  smites  them,  and  he  heals  them;  he 
pours  light  upon  their  path,  or  he  leaves  them  in  sudden 
darkness.  They  are  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter.’’ 
They  are  broken  to  pieces,  that  out  of  their  earthly 
fragments  he  may  build  up  a heavenly  habitation. 
He  makes  them  nothing,  that  they  may  have  divine 
19 


218 


DIVINE  UNION. 


strength.  He  cuts  them  loose  from  the  creature,  that 
they  may  be  made  receptive  of  the  Creator.  But  in 
everything  there  is  wisdom.  Men  may  not  see  it ; but 
it  is  there. 


THE  LIGHT  ABOVE  US. 

There  is  a light  in  yonder  skies, 

A light  unseen  by  outward  eyes ; — 

But  clear  and  bright  to  inward  sense, 

It  shines,  the  star  of  Providence. 

The  radiance  of  the  central  throne, 

It  comes  from  God,  and  God  alone;  — 

The  ray  that  never  yet  grew  pale. 

The  star,  that  “ shines  within  the  veil.’' 

And  faith,  unchecked  by  earthly  fears. 
Shall  lift  its  eye,  though  filled  with  tears. 
And  while  around  ’tis  dark  as  night, 
TJntired,  shall  mark  that  heavenly  light. 

In  vain  they  smite  me,  — men  but  do 
What  God  permits,  with  different  view ; — 
To  outward  sight  they  wield  the  rod. 

But  faith  proclaims  it  all  of  God. 

Unmoved,  then,  let  me  keep  my  way. 
Supported  by  that  cheering  ray, 

Which,  shining  distant,  renders  clear 
The  clouds  and  darkness  thronging  near.=^ 

*Life  of  Madame  Guyon,  vol.  ii.  p.  317 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ON  THE  RELATION  OF  PROVIDENCE  TO  SPIRITUAL  GROWTH. 

The  arrangements^  of  Providence  to  the  spiritual  growth  what  the  earth 
is  to  natural  growth.  — The  analogy  between  the  two  extended  to 
particulars.  — Importance  of  remaining  quiet  under  the  operations 
of  Providence.  — Illustrations  of  the  subject. — Remarks. 

We  proceed  now  to  a view  of  Providence,  which 
commends  itself  to  the  special  consideration  of  Chris- 
tians. Providence,  considered  as  the  divine  arrange- 
ment of  things  in  relation  to  men,  is  the  Lord’s  spirituqj 
garden.  It  is  to  the  spiritual  growth  what  the  earth  is 
to  the  germination  and  growth  of  material  products.  If 
it  be  true,  that  the  earth  is  the  appointed  instrumentality, 
through  which  and  by  which  the  seeds  of  things  grow 
up,  it  is  not  the  less  true,  though  it  may  be  less  obvious, 
that  the  arrangements  of  Providence,  spread  out  in  the 
wide  and  variegated  surface  of  things  and  events,  con- 
stitute, in  like  manner,  the  instrumentality,  the  receptive 
and  productive  medium,  in  which  the  seed  of  the  spir- 
itual life  is  to  be  planted,  to  germinate  and  perfect  itself. 

2.  The  analogy  is  not  limited  to  the  productive 
medium.  It  extends  to  that  which  is  produced,  and 
also  to  the  manner  of  production.  The  seed,  which  is 
planted  in  the  earth,  is  a dead  seed.  So  man’s  soul, 
when  it  is  first  cast  into  the  soil  of  God’s  providence,  is 
a dead  seed.  They  are  both  alike  dead,  the  material 
seed  and  the  seed  of  immortality. 


220 


DIVINE  UNION. 


But  neither  the  ground  of  nature  nor  that  of  provi- 
dencOj  into  which  they  are  first  received,  would  of  itself 
alone  reproduce  them  to  a new  life.  To  the  natural  seed, 
when  planted  in  the  earth,  there  must  be  applied  the 
rain  and  the  sunshine  before  it  can  be  decomposed, 
incorporated  with  new  elements,  and  vivified  with  new 
life  and  beauty.  The  earth,  operating  in  connection 
with  these  exterior  helps,  takes  off  and  removes  the 
outer  coats  of  the  seed,  until  it  reaches  the  central  prin- 
ciple, which  had  been  encrusted  and  shut  out  from  all 
the  benign  influences  of  the  sun  and  atmosphere,  and 
with  its  fostering  care  rears  it  up  from  its  embryo  of 
existence  to  its  developed  and  beautiful  perfection.  In 
like  manner,  when  the  seed  of  man’s  immortal  spirit  is 
planted  in  the  midst  of  God’s  providences,  it  is  not  till 
the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  applied,  that  it  is 
decomposed,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  by  a separation  of 
the  good  and  evil,  and  the  eternal  element,  deprived  of 
life  by  reason  of  sin,  is  made  alive  in  the  spiritual  regen- 
eration. 

The  analogy  in  the  two  cases  is  a very  close  one.  The 
encircling  system  of  providential  arrangements,  operating 
in  connection  with  the  aiding  energy  of  God’s  Spirit, 
removes  coat  after  coat  of  that  selfishness  which  had 
enveloped  and  paralyzed  every  faculty  ; and  reaching  at 
last  the  central  element  of  the  soul,  the  principle  of  love, 
which  had  suffered  this  dreadful  perversion,  it  restores  it 
to  that  life,  light,  and  beauty,  from  which  it  had  wick- 
edly fallen. 

3.  But  neither  the  garden  of  providence  nor  that  of 
nature  can  do  its  work,  unless  the  seed  which  is  planted 
remain  quiet  in  its  position.  If  the  material  seed,  under 
!he  presence  that  a moister  or  drier,  a richer  or  poorer, 
soil  is  better,  or  for  any  other  reason,  is  removed  from 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE.  221 

place  to  place,  the  processes  of  nature  are  hindered,  and 
re-productk  n does  not  take  effect.  So,  if  the  soul  of 
man,  when  it  is  planted  in  the  midst  of  God’s  provi- 
dence, does  not  remain  quiet  under  the  divine  operation, 
but,  before  its  coats  of  selfishness  can  be  displaced, 
moves  off  in  its  blind  and  dead  life  into  what  it  con- 
siders a better  soil,  it  cannot  be  born  into  the  true  and 
living  life.  The  hand  of  the  great  Master,  operating 
by  its  prescribed  laws,  will  always  perfectly  accomplish 
its  purpose,  if  *the  subject  upon  v/hich  it  operates  will 
remain  fixed  and  steady  to  the  process,  but  not  other- 
wise. 

4.  One  stroke  of  God’s  providence,  perhaps  by  destroy- 
ing a man’s  barn  or  ship,  will  remove  the  coat  of  inor- 
dinate desire  of  possession.  Another  stroke  of  the  same 
providence,  perhaps  by  ^unfolding  some  act  of  human 
treachery,  will  strike  off  and  destroy  the  corrupting 
envelope  of  inordinate  desire  for.,  human  applause. 
Another  blow,  coming  in  another  direction,  by  disap- 
pointing and  destroying  some  lofty  and  cherished 
expectations,  will  separate  and  remove  from  the  soul 
the  destroying  adhesions  of  a wicked  ambition.  And 
thus  every  inordinate  propensity  and  passion  may  be 
smitten  and  removed  one  after  another,  until  the  princi- 
ple of  love,  which  had  been  enchained  by  the  tyranny 
of  lust,  disenthralled  from  this  heavy  oppression,  returns 
at  last,  and  finds  its  centre  in  God. 

5.  Stay,  therefore,  son  of  man,  under  the  process  of 
the  divine  excision.  Remain  in  the  union  of  time  and 
place,  however  painful  it  may  be,  until  God  shall  bring 
thee  into  the  union  of  disposition.  If  he  smites  thee,  it 
is  only  that  he  may  heal.  If  the  dead  limb  is  cut  off,  it 
is  only  that  a new  one  may  be  grafted  in.  If,  like  the 
seed  in  the  earth,  thy  spirit  must  be  planted  in  the  dark- 

19^ 


222 


DIVINE  UNION. 


ness  oi  the  burial  place,  it  will  find  an  angel  in  the  tomb, 
who  will  burst  its  prison  house.  If  thou  must  be 
brought  down,  and  crucified,  and  perish  in  the  dead 
Adam,  it  is  only  that  thou  mayst  be  re-produced,  and 
elevated,  and  made  joyful  in  the  living  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON  THE  LAW  OF  PROVIDENCE  IN  RELATION  TO  SIMPLICITY 
OF  SPIRIT. 

Explanati  >ns  of  simplicity  of  spirit.  — Exists  in  connection  with  a dis- 
position to  harmonize  with  Providence.  Illustrations  of  the  subject. — 
The  man  who  is  simple  in  spirit  is  a child. 

There  is  a state  of  mind  which  is  properly  expressed 
by  the  phrase  simplicity  of  spirit.  It  is  a state  of  mind 
simplified;  — that  is  to  say,  a state  which  is  prompted 
in  its  views  and  actions  by  the  simple  or  single  motive 
of  God^s  will^  instead  of  being  led  in  various  directions 
and  multiplied^  as  it  Avere,  by  worldly  motives,  such  as 
pride,  pleasure,  anger,  honor,  riches  and  the  like.  Being 
one  in  its  controlling  element,  having  its  thought,  its 
feeling,  and  its  action  subjected  to  the  domination  of  a 
single  principle,  it  cannot  be  multiplied.  Like  the  law 
of  gravitation  in  the  natural  world,  it  is  not  only  one 
and  undivided  in  itself,  but  always  tends  to  one  and  the 
same  centre. 

2.  Such  simplicity  is  aided,  in  being  carried  into 
action,  by  the  providential  law.  The  multiplied  man  is 
full  of  worldly  schemes.  The  simple  man,  being  in 
harmony  with  God’s  will,  forms  no  plans  and  enters 
upon  no  schemes,  except  such  as  are  suggested  by  God's 
providences.  And  the  consequence  is,  that  he  ceases 
from  all  those  anxious  forecastings  and  calculations, 
which  result  from  a worldly  spirit.  As  he  receives  what 
God  now  gives^  and  does  not  wish  to  receive  anything 


224 


DIVINE  UNION. 


else ; so  le  does  what  God  now  requires  him  to  do^  with- 
out wisJiing  to  do  otherwise.  Every  day,  made  up  of  its 
various  incidents  and  events,  constitutes  a map,  on  which 
Providence  has  drawn  the  path  which  he  is  to  pursue. 
As  each  coming  hour  unrolls  this  map  before  his  eye  of 
faith,  and  before  his  heart  of  love,  he  promptly  takes 
his  position,  step  by  step,  without  knowing  at  each 
moment  where  he  shall  be,  and  what  he  shall  do,  in  the 
next  moment. 

3.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  it  is  not  possible  for 
him  to  lay  down  future  plans,  or  to  make  any  such 
calculations,  to  be  carried  into  effect  at  a future  time,  as 
have  a fixed  and  absolute  character.  So  far  as  he 
exercises  what  may  be  termed  a prudent  foresight,  and 
forms  plans  of  future  action,  it  is  always  done  in  sub- 
jection to  the  developments  of  Providence. 

The  worldly  man,  in  the  independence  of  a worldly 
spirit,  says  he  will  do  this  or  that,  whatever  it  may  be, 
which  is  most  pleasing  to  him.  He  will  go  to  some 
distant  city,  to  Jerusalem,  to  Athens,  to  Rome,  to  Lon- 
don, and  bring  many  things  to  pass.  But  the  man  who 
is  possessed  of  a holy  simplicity  of  spirit,  true  to  the 
inscrutable  law  of  Providence,  is  like  a little  child. 
Without  excluding  a prudential  foresight,  which  is 
always  conditional  in  its  applications,  he  says,  I will  go 
to  the  designated  place,  if  the  Lord  wills  ; or  I will  do 
this  or  that,  if  the  Lord  wills.  And  it  cannot  be  doubted, 
if  this  condition  of  action  is  not  always  expressed,  it  is 
at  least  always  implied, 

4.  Whatever  general  plans  he  forms,  (and  it  ought  to 
be  added,  in  passing,  that  he  is  always  deliberate  and 
cautious  in  making  such  plans,)  they  are  all  subordinate 
to  the  suggestions  and  orders  of  the  great  providential 
Power.  He  may  be  said,  therefore,  to  be  a man  moved 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


225 


cu^  he  is  moved  upon ; — not  so  much  a man  without 
motion,  as  one  whose  motion  or  action  evolves  itself  in 
connection  with  a higher  motion.  . His  action,  spon- 
taneous and  morally  responsible,  is  nevertheless  consent- 
ingly  and  harmoniously  regulated  by  a higher  arrange- 
ment, antecedently  made.  Providence  is  not  a thing 
accidental,  but  eternal.  The  events  which  are  involved 
in  it  are  letters,  which  describe  the  Everlasting  Will. 
The  holy  man’s  will,  therefore,  operating  by  its  own  law 
of  action,  and  secured  in  the  possession  of  a just  moral 
freedom,  moves  in  the  superintendence  and  harmony  of 
a higher,  better,  and  unchangeable  will. 

To  him  the  world,  in  all  its  movements,  is  full  of 
God.  It  is  a great  ocean,  never  at  rest,  flowing  in  differ- 
ent directions,  though  always  at  unity  with  itself.  And 
as  each  drop  of  the  natural  ocean,  without  ceasing  to  be 
a drop,  flows  on  as  a part  of  and  in  harmony  with  the 
great  billows,  so  is  he,  freely  leaving  his  will  to  the 
impulse  of  a higher  will,  moved  on  in  harmony  with  the 
great  sea  of  Providence. 

5.  Such  an  union  with  Providence  not  only  requires 
simplicity  of  spirit,  but  it  may  be  said  to  make  a man 
simple.  He  thinks,  as  some  ancient  writer  expresses  it, 
without  thinking;  ” that  is  to  say,  his  thoughts,  taken 
out  of  the  order  of  his  once  selfish  nature,  are  suggested 
by  and  fall  in  with  the  providential  order ; and  they  do 
it  so  easily  and  so  beautifully,  like  the  thoughts  of  angel 
natures,  that  another  power  seems  to  think  in  them  and 
to  give  them  life.  He  thinks  without  the  labor  of  think- 
ing, because  his  thoughts  are  given  to  him. 

He  feels,  as  the  same  writer  expresses  it,  without 
feeling.^'  That  is  to  say,  he  feels  without  making  a 
special  effort  to  feel,  and  without  having  his  thoughts 
particularly  directed  to  his  feelings.  They  arise  spon- 
taneously in  connection  with  actions  and  events. 


226 


DIVINE  UNION. 


If  his  spirit  has  become  one  with  God’s  spirit,  then  all 
he  has  to  do  is  to  feel  as  God  feels ; — which  he  does  by 
a natural  sympathy  rather  than  by  a constrained  volun- 
tary elfort.  And  so  true  is  this,  that  God,  operating  by 
the  gentle  attractions,  and  by  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of 
divine  love,  almost  seems  to  take  his  place,  and  to  feel 
for  him. 

He  wills,  it  is  further  remarked  by  the  writer'just  now 
referred  to,  without  willing^  That  is  to  say,  his  will, 
freed  from  selfish  impulses,  and  from  the  power  of  ante- 
cedent habits,  operates  so  harmoniously  with  the  Univer- 
sal Will,  that  the  two  wills,  not  physically,  but  morally, 
are  made  one.  And  he  wills  as  if  another  willed  in  his 
stead. 

6.  And  is  not  a man  who  thus  thinks  without  thinking, 
feels  without  feeling,  and  wills  without  willing,  by  the 
loss  of  his  own  thoughts,  feelings,  and  volitions,  in  the 
thoughts,  afiections,  and  purposes  of  God,  — is  not  such 
a man  truly  characterized  by  simplicity  of  spirit  ? It  is 
sometimes  said  of  the  truly  renovated  and  sanctified  man, 
that  he  has  become  a child.  And  it  may  well  be  asked, 
who  is  or  can  be  more  a child  than  the  man  we  have 
just  described  ? The  child  thinks  as  his  father  thinks, 
feels  as  his  father  feels,  wills  as  his  father  wills.  And 
it  is  this,  much  more  than  his  physical  likeness,  which 
makes  him  the  true  child.  He  is  sometimes  taunted 
with  that  which  constitutes  his  true  honor,  namely,  that 
he  dares  not  think  for  himself,  nor  feel  nor  will  for  him- 
self, but  that  he  is  just  as  his  father  is.  The  child  of 
God,  also,  is  just  as  his  Father  is.  It  is  this,  more  than 
anything  else,  which  makes  him  the  true  child.  And 
as  the  Father  establishes,  or  makes  Providence,  the  child 
harmonizes  with  Providence ; and  it  is  much  the  same 
thing  to  say,  that  he  is  the  child  of  Providence,  and 
to  say  that  he  is  the  child  of  God.  In  either  case,  he 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


227 


is  a child,  and  a child  is  simple  ; that  is  to  say,  he  has 
that  simplicity  of  spirit,  which  makes  him  think,  feel, 
and  will,  as  another  thinks,  feels,  and  wills.  In  his 
simplicity,  not  knowing  which  way  to  direct  his  steps, 
he  goes  as  he  is  led.  God  leads  him.  From  the  hand 
of  God’s  providence  he  receives  his  daily  food.  The 
same  Providence  which  leads  him,  feeds  him.  All  things 
and  all  events  are  his  teachers,  because  God  is  in  them. 
He  BELIEVES,  and  God  takes  care  of  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


OF  THE  UNION  OF  GOD  AND  MAN  IN  PROVIDENCE. 

Union  with  Providence  is  union  with  God.  — The  unsanctified  or  sin- 
ful man  at  variance  with  both.  — Union  with  God  in  Providence  implies 
union  with  God  in  outward  nature.  — Illustrations  of  this  view.  — 
On  turning  from  God.  — Kemarks. 

It  will  be  seen,  on  a little  examination,  that  the 
result  of  these  views  in  relation  to  Providence  must  be, 
that  harmony  with  Providence  is  union  with  God.  As 
the  law  of  Providence  is  only  another  expression  for  God^s 
will,  as  that  will  is  exhibited  in  connection  with  his 
providences,  the  man  who  lives  in  conformity  with 
Providence  necessarily  lives  in  conformity  with  God. 

2.  This  certainly  cannot  be  said  of  the  natural  or 
unholy  man.  It  is  impossible  that  it  should  be.  Living 
in  the  breath  and  heat  of  his  own  desires,  in  his  own  will 
and  out  of  God’s  will,  he  is  not  more  discordant  with 
Providence,  than  with  the  Author  of  Providence.  There 
is  a perpetual  conflict.  Full  of  his  own  objects  and 
purposes,  he  desires  health,  but  God  sends  sickness ; he 
desires  riches,  but  God  sends  poverty ; he  desires  ease, 
but  God  imposes  activity  and  labor ; he  desires  honor, 
but  God  sends  degradation.  Or,  if  God  sends  the  objects 
of  his  desire,  giving  him  health,  wealth,  and  honor,  he 
still  complains  of  the  way  in  which  they  are  sent ; or  if 
he  is  satisfied  with  the  way  in  which  they  are  sent,  he  is 
not  satisfied  with  the  degrees.  There  will  always  be 
found  a divergency,  a want  of  harmony  somewhere.  It 
is  impossible  that  they  should  walk  together. 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


229 


3.  It  is  very  different  with  the  truly  holy  man,  to 
whom  God’s  providences  are  dear.  In'  conforming  to 
the  law  of  Providence,  he  obeys  the  law  which  secures 
efficacy  and  application  to  every  other  law.  The  law 
of  God,  for  instance,  requires  us  to  reprove  sin  in  our 
neighbor ; but  unless  we  are  guided  in  doing  it  by  the 
providential  law,  we  shall  be  likely  to  do  more  evil  than 
good.  If  we  reprove  him  without  regard  to  time  and 
place,  — if  we  take  an  occasion  to  do  it  which  will 
unnecessarily  expose  him  to  contempt  and  injury  from 
others,  while  he  is  made  the  subject  of  our  own  reprehen- 
sions, — we  shall  obviously  fail  of  our  object. 

The  law  of  God  requires  us  to  do  good,  by  speaking 
to  impenitent  persons  on  the  subject  of  religion.  But 
this  requisition  must  be  carried  into  effect,  in  connection 
with  the  law  of  Providence ; in  accordance  with  the 
appropriateness  of  time,  place,  the  presence  or  absence 
of  friends,  and  all  other  circumstances  which  are  natu- 
rally or  necessarily  involved. 

The  law  of  God  requires  us  to  be  benevolent ; but 
benevolence,  without  regard  to  the  adjustments  and 
claims  of  Providence,  is  not  benevolence,  but  prodi- 
gality; in  other  words,  it  is  unbelieving  and  unaccepta- 
ble wastefulness.  We  are  to  consult  God’s  will  in  the 
manner  of  giving,  as  much  as  in  the/ac^  of  giving.  His 
written  law  requires  the  fact ; — his  providential  law 
indicates  the  manner.  A failure  in  the  latter,  if  it  is 
intentional,  vitiates  and  annuls  the  obedience  of  the 
former. 

The  law  of  God  requires  us  to  be  submissive  and 
acquiescent  under  those  afflictions  which  from  time  to 
time  come  upon  us.  But  submission  to  afflictions,  with- 
out recognizing  God’s  providential  foresight  and  arrange- 
ments in  sending  them,  is  rr  ere  acquiescence  in  unavoida- 
20 


230 


DIVINE  UNION. 


ble  events,  and  not  acquiescence  in  God’s  wise  and  just 
agency ; it  is  the  submission  of  a brute  anirr.al,  and  not 
the  submission  of  a Christian. 

4.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  anything  in  addition 
to  what  has  already  been  intimated  in  various  places,  to 
show  the  importance  of  keeping  steady  to  the  line  of 
Providence.  It  is  when  we  are  in  this  position,  and 
only  when  we  are  in  this  position,  that  we  may  be  said 
to  walk  with  God ; and  walking  with  God  is  union  with 
God. 

5.  Providence,  expansive  as  the  agency  of  the  Divine 
Mind,  includes  things  as  well  as  events,  material  nature 
as  well  as  human  action.  To  be  in  harmony,  there- 
fore, with  God’s  Providence,  we  must  be  in  harmony 
with  everything; — not  excepting  the  material  world. 
It  is  true,  that  things  inanimate  have  no  life  in  them- 
selves ; but  they  are  the  residence  of  a living  mind. 
We  might  almost  say,  in  a mitigated  sense  of  the  terms, 
that  every  thing,  not  excluding  objects  the  most  remote 
from  moral  intelligence,  becomes  God  to  us.  There  is 
no  grass,  no  flower,  no  tree,  no  insect,  no  creeping  thing, 
no  singing  bird,  nothing  which  does  not  bring  God 
with  it,  and  in  such  a manner  that  the  thing  which 
we  behold  becomes  a clear  and  bright  revelation  of  that 
which  is  invisible. 

6.  We  go,  for  instance,  into  a garden  and  pluck  a 
flower;  and,  as  we  permit  our  eye  to  wander  over  it, 
and  to  behold  the  various  elements  of  its  graceful 
beauty,  we  not  only  see  the  flower,  but  the  eye  of  faith, 
making  a telescope  of  the  bodily  eye,  and  reading  the 
invisible  in  the  visible,  sees,  also,  the  God  of  the  flower. 
Often  has  the  devout  Christian,  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
used  expressions,  which  indicate  the  fact  of  this  divine 
perception.  ^‘The  God,  whom  I love,”  he  says,  shines 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


231 


upon  me  from  these  blooming  leaves.”  And  the  expres- 
sions he  uses  convey  a great  truth  to  him,  however  they 
may  fail  to  convey  it  to  others.  That  flower  is  God’s 
development.  It  is  not  only  God  present  indirectly  by 
a material  token,  by  a mere  manifested  sign,  while  the 
reality  of  the  thing  signified  is  absent;  but  it  is  God 
present  as  a being,  living,  perceptive,  and  operative. 
We  do  not  mean  to  say,  that  God  and  the  flower  are 
identical.  Far  from  it.  But  what  we  do  mean  to  say, 
is,  — that  the  life  of  God  lives  and  operates  in  the  life 
of  the  flower.  It  is  not  enough  to  say,  as  we  contem- 
plate the  flower,  that  God  created  it;  — implying,  in  the 
remark,  that,  having  created  it,  he  then  cast  it  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  earth  to  live  or  die,  as  a thing  friendless 
and  uncared  for.  This  is  the  low  view  which  unbelief 
takes.  The  vision  of  faith  sees  much  further  than  this. 
God  is  still  in  it ; — not  virtually,  but  really ; not  merely 
by  signs,  but  as  the  thing  signified.  God  is  the  God 
of  the  living.”  And  while  the  flower  lives,  he,  who 
made  it,  is  still  its  vital  principle  just  as  much  as  when 
his  unseen  hand  propelled  it  from  its  stalk ; not  only  the 
author,  but  the  support  of  its  life,  the  present  and  not 
the  absent  source  of  its  beauty  and  fragrance,  still 
delighting  in  it  as  an  object  of  his  skill  and  care. 

The  sanctified  mind  realizes  this  in  a hew  and  higher 
sense ; — so  much  so  that  the  truly  holy  man  enjoys 
especial  intercourse  with  God,  and  enters  into  a close 
and  divine  unity  with  him,  when  he  walks  amid  the 
various  works  which  nature,  or  rather  the  God  of  nature, 
constantly  presents  to  his  view. 

7.  But  this  is  not  all.  In  a similar  sense  every 
event  which  takes  place  in  God’s  providential  govern- 
ment may  be  said  to  he  God  to  us  ; — that  is  to  say, 
not  merely  to  remind  us  of  God  as  coldly  beholding  the 
event  at  a distance,  but  to  bring  God  with  it,  and 


232 


DIVINE  UNION. 


manifest  him  in  a very  especial  manner.  I am  aware 
that  it  is  a common  saying,  and  one  which  is  generally 
assented  to,  that  God  is  present  in  all  events.  The  man 
of  the  world  will  assert  this  ; — the  disbelievers  in  the 
Bible  will  son;ietimes  assert  it.  But  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say,  that  they  have  not  the  faith  which  enables 
them  to  realize  that  which  they  assert.  The  mere  dec- 
laration of  his  presence  is  a very  different  thing  from  a 
practical  conviction,  a realizing  sense,  of  his  presence. 
If  God,  in  the  events  of  his  providence,  afflicts  me  with 
sickness,  or  if  he  permits  my  neighbor  to  defame  nue, 
God,  it  is  true,  is  not  the  sickness,  and  is  not  the  defama- 
tion ; but  he  is  in  the  sickness  and  in  the  defamation,  in 
such  a sense  that  we  are  to  think  of  him  and  receive 
him  as  a ‘present  God,  and  present  probably  for  the  spe- 
cific purpose  of  trying  our  faith  and  patience.  The 
event,  painful  as  it  is,  and  criminal  as  it  is  under  some 
circumstances,  is  nevertheless  a manifestation  of  God; 
and  not  of  a God  absent,  but  of  a God  present.  And 
happy  is  the  man  that  can  receive  this. 

8.  In  connection  with  this  interesting  subject,  one 
thought  more  remains  to  be  considered.  What  is  it  to 
turn  from  God?  In  the  earlier  stages  of  experience, 
we  are  apt  (and  perhaps  it  is  difficult  to  do  otherwise) 
to  assign  to  God  a form  and  locality.  The  term  /rom, 
in  its  original  meaning,  involves  the  idea  of  place ; and 
regarding  God  as  having  form  and  locality,  we  easily 
adjust  the  expression  to  our  conceptions,  and  speak 
with  a degr  ee  of  propriety,  relatively  to  our  view  of  things, 
of  turning  our  thoughts  and  feelings  from  God.  But 
when,  in  a more  advanced  state  of  experience,  the  idea  of 
a local  God  expands  itself  into  the  idea  of  God  m-lo- 
caP’  and  infinite,  not  only  associating  himself  with  all 
things  as  an  attendant,  but  existing  m all  things  as  a liv- 
ing spirit ; — what  is  meant  bv  turning  p mi  God  then? 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


233 


In  the  experience  of  a truly  sanctified  mind,  to  turn 
frcm  God,  in  one  important  sense  at  least,  is  to  be  out 
of  harmony  with  his  providences.  For  God,  in  being 
expanded,  as  it  were^  from  the  local  and  the  finite  to  the 
w/i-local  and  infinite,  can  be  found,  as  a Gdd  developing 
himself  within  the  sphere  of  human  knowledge,  only  in 
those  things,  acts  and  events,  which  constitute  provi- 
dences. To  be  out  of  harmony  with  these  things,  acts, 
and  events,  which  God  in  his  providence  has  seen  fit  to 
array  around  us,  — that  is  to  say,  not  to  meet  them  in  a 
humble,  believing,  and  thankful  spirit,  — is  to  turn  from 
God.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  to  see  in  them  the  devel- 
opments of  God’s  presence,  and  of  the  divine  will,  and  to 
accept  that  will  with  all  the  appropriate  dispositions,  is  to 
turn  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  to  be  in  union  with  him. 

9.  The  man  who  is  thus  united  with  God  in  his 
providences,  not  only  sees  God  in  everything  else,  but 
he  has  God  in  himself.  His  soul  is  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.”  The  God  inward,  or  perhaps  we  should 
say  the  purified  soul  in  the  likeness  of  God,  corresponds 
to  the  God  outward.  God  manifests  himself  in  his 
providences,  sometimes  in  sending  joy  and  sometimes 
in  sending  sorrow ; — and  the  life  of  Jesus  in  the  heart, 
the  God  in  miniature^  if  we  may  so  express  it,  corre- 
sponds, with  entire  facility  and  perfection  of  movement, 
to  the  God  that  is  manifested  in  the  events  and  things 
around.  And  thus  it  is  easy  to  understand,  looking  at 
the  subject  in  these  various  points  of  view,  and  especially 
when  we  consider  that  God  in  his  providences  is  the 
exact  counterpart  of  God  reestablished  in  the  sanctified 
human  heart,  how  man  may  be  said,  in  the  language  of 
Scripture^  “ to  walk”  with  his  Maker,  and  that  harmony 
with  Providence  is  union  with  the  Divinity. 

20^ 


CHAPTER  IX. 


RELATION  OF  THE  LAW  OF  PROVIDENCE  TO  THE  ORDER  AND 
DISORDER  WHICH  EXIST  IN  THE  WORLD. 

Results,  if  the  law  of  Providence  were  universally  fulfilled.  — All 
would  be  satisfied  with  their  situation.  — There  would  be  universal 
peace.  — Remarks  on  the  present  state  of  things. 

Various  are  the  topics  which  this  great  subject  sug- 
gests. One  has  relation  to  the  restoration  of  peace  on 
the  earth. 

If  the  law  of  Providence  were  strictly  fulfilled,  it  is 
obvious  that  order  would  at  once  exist  throughout  the 
world.  The  reign  of  harmony,  which  poets  have  dreamed 
and  prophets  have  predicted,  would  from  that  moment 
commence.  Every  man  would  not  only  be  in  his  place, 
but,  what  is  more,  he  would  be  contented  with  his 
place.  It  would  not  be  the  order  of  tyranny,  but  the 
order  of  benevolent  wisdom.  It  would  not  be  the  har- 
mony of  force,  but  the  harmony  resulting  from  a com- 
mon faith  in  a common  Father. 

2.  The  first  development,  under  the  strict  fulfilment 
of  the  law  of  Providence,  would  be  order  and  harmony 
of  position.  And  this  would  be  attended  with  harmony 
of  feeling.  As  each  one  would  be  in  his  place,  so  each 
would  be  satisfied  with  his  place,  without  being  more 
satisfied  with  his  02vn  place  than  with  that  of  his  neighbor. 
In  looking  at  the  great  frame- work  of  society,  all  would 
recognize  the  necessity  of  the  parts  to  the  completion 
and  symmetry  of  the  whole.  As  each  would  have  his 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


235 


place,  with  no  rebellion  of  the  foot  against  the  hand, 
nor  of  the  hand  against  the  head ; so  there  would  be  no 
feelings  of  distrust  and  envy.  How  could  there  be 
rivalries,  how  could  there  be  distrust  or  envy,  when 
each,  in  being  contented  with  the  divine  .arrangements, 
would  of  course  be  satisfied  with  that  position  which 
those  arrangements  had  assigned  him  ? The  fact  of  the 
divine  choice,  especially  when  taken  in  connection  with 
the  imperfections  of  human  wisdom,  would  far  more 
than  counterbalance  all  incidental  evils;  so  much  so, 
that  want  and  suffering,  attended  with  God’s  choice  and 
favor,  would  be  regarded  as  infinitely  preferable  to  riches 
and  pleasure  without  them.  f, 

3.  The  cessation  of  personal  and  social  rivalries  would 
involve  that  of  nations;  or,  at  least,  the  same  divine 
law,  which  operated  to  secure  the  one,  would  not  fail  to 
bring  about  the  other.  Persons  and  neighborhoods  would 
be  at  peace.  Nations  would  be  at  peace  also.  There  is 
a locality,  a rank,  a duty  of  nations,  as  well  as  of  indi- 
viduals. If  each  would  take  the  position,  and  fulfil  the 
duty,  which  the  law  of  Providence  indicates  to  them, 
national  rivalries  would  cease,  because  the  occasions  of 
such  rivalries  would  no  longer  exist ; and  the  God  of  the 
individual  man,  and  of  the  domestic  hearth,  and  of 
social  institutions  and  unions,  would  be  the  God  of 
empires.  The  law  of  Providence,  harmonizing  the  rela 
tions  of  states,  as  it  does  those  of  individuals  and  small 
communities,  would  constitute  a family  of  nations,  and 
war  would  be  known  no  longer. 

4.  On  the  other  hand,  there  cannot  be  discordance 
between  man’s  moral  nature  and  God’s  providence, 
without  great  contention  and  disorder  in  the  world.  And 
in  point  of  fact,  the  world  is  in  the  greatest  confusion 
and  strife,  liecause  the  ordainment  of  God  is  not  corre- 


236 


DIVINE  UNION. 


sponded  to  by  the  wishes  of  the  creature.  With  scarce- 
ly an  exception,  there  is  something  left  of  that  life  of 
nature  which  produces  divergence  and  conflict.  Every 
one  has  his  choice.  To  be  a merchant,  a prince,  a com- 
mander of  armies,  a man  of  pleasure,  a man  of  science, 
a mechanic,  a farmer,  a soldier,  a teacher  of  youth,  — 
such  are  some  of  the  preferences  they  evince.  The  object 
at  which  they  aim  is  not  always,  and  perhaps  not  gen- 
erally, wrong.  The  fault  consists  in  unwillingness  to 
harmonize  with  the  decisions  of  a higher  power.  All 
wish  to  decide  for  themselves ; all  estimate  the  good  or 
the  evil  on  the  small  scale  of  their  own  personality  and 
A interests ; all  have  their  choice.  Who  among  them,  in 
the  mournful  degeneracy  of  our  fallen  race,  wishes  to 
follow,  or  thinks  beforehand  of  following,  the  choice  of 
Providence  ? 

The  world  is  a map  of  situations,  inscribed  with  lines 
of  demarcation,  diversified  everywhere  with  discrimina- 
tive colors,  which  indicate  opportunity,  adaptation,  want, 
fulfilment,  duty.  In  one  place  the  poor  are  to  be  aided; 
in  another  place  the  ignorant  are  to  be  instructed ; in 
another  the  sick  are  to  be  consoled  and  watched  over. 
In  one  place  is  the  demarcation  of  endurance;  in  another 
is  the  arena  of  action;  in  another  is  the  platform  of  authori- 
ty and  eloquence.  But  who,  in  beholding  any  one  of 
these  various  demarcations  and  the  duties  it  suggests, 
goes  to  God  and  asks  : — Am  I the  man  whom  eternal 
wisdom  has  selected  for  this  mission?  Resigning  my 
own  will,  I lay  myself  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice, — 
not  to  be  what  I might  choose  to  be,  but  to  be  what  God 
may  choose  to  have  me  to  be.  Send  me,  if  thou  wilt ; — 
but  let  me  not  go,  or  have  a thought  of  going,  without 
thine  own  authority.' 

5.  There  are  exceptions,  it  is  true,  but  not  enough  to 


tNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


237 


reverse,  or  to  modify  essentially  the  assertion,  that  man 
is  at  war  with  Providence.  “ All  seek  their  own,”  says 
the  apostle,  ‘^not  the  things  which  are  Jesus  Christ’s.” 
In  this  state  of  things  it  is  obviously  impossible  that 
there  should  be  peace  or  happiness.  The  divine  har- 
mony is  broken.  Man,  in  being  by  his  selfishness 
antagonistical  to  God  and  God’s  arrangements,  is  neces- 
sarily antagonistical  to  his  neighbor.  Place  is  at  war 
with  place,  and  feeling  with  feeling.  Judgment  is  arrayed 
against  judgment,  because  false  and  conflicting  judg- 
ments necessarily  grow  out  of  the  soil  of  perverted 
affections.  On  every  side  are  the  outcries  of  passion,  the 
competitions  of  interest,  and  the  crush  of  broken  hearts. 

6.  Shall  it  always  be  so  7 The  remedy,  and  the  only 
remedy,  is  an  adherence  to  the  law  of  Providence. 
Renounce  man’s  wisdom,  and  seek  that  of  God.  Sub- 
ject the  human  to  the  divine.  Harmonize  the  imper- 
fect thoughts  and  purposes  of  the  creature  with  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Eternal  Will.  Let  the  clamors  of  nature 
cease,  that  the  still  small  voice  of  the  Godhead  may 
speak  in  the  soul.  Go  where  God  may  lead  thee. 

When  this  shall  be  the  general  disposition,  when  all 
shall  cease  to  seek  their  own,  and  shall  begin  to  seek  the 
things  which  are  Christ’s,  Avhen  man’s  life  shall  be 
again  engrafted  m the  Universal  Life,  then  will  the 
Law  of  Providen(j  3 universally  take  effect,  and  God  will 
reign  among  men. 


CHAPTER  X. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  INTERIOR  OR  SPIRITUAL  SOLITUDE. 

“ Therefore,  behold  I will  allure  her,  and  bring  her  into  the  wildermiSy 
[that  is,  into  the  solitary  place,]  and  speak  comfortably  unto  her.^’ 
— Hosea  2 : 14. 

To  be  alone  with  God,  which  implies  being  in  soli- 
tude from  the  world,  is  indescribably  pleasing  to  the 
devout  mind.  And  in  order  to  realize  an  idea,  which 
carries  with  it  so  much  attraction,  it  is  not  surprising, 
that  many  pious  persons  have,  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
secluded  themselves  from  society.  In  plucking  the  roses 
of  the  world,  they  have  been  pierced  with  the  thorn ; 
and  in  the  depth  of  their  sorrow  they  have* sought  to 
avoid  that,  which,  under  the  appearance  of  good,  con- 
ceals so  much  evil.  Their  designs  have  been  right,  but 
their  methods  have  not  always  been  successful. 

We  have  briefly  alluded  to  this  subject  in  the  conclud- 
ing remarks  of  the  chapter  which  considers  Providence 
in  connection  with  man's  situation  in  life.  We  propose 
to  make  a few  further  remarks  upon  it  here. 

2.  In  order  to  have  correct  ideas  on  the  subject  before 
us,  we  may  properly  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  inte- 
rbr  or  spiritual  solitude  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 
pliysical  or  'personal  solitude.  It  is  something  more,  and 
something  higher,  than  mere  seclusion  of  the  body  in 
some  hidden  or  remote  place. 

In  the  accounts  of  those,  who,  in  the  early  periods  of 
Christianity,  retired  into  solitary  places,  with  the  object 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


239 


of  perfecting  their  inward  state  in  desolate  ca\rerns,  in 
forests,  and  in  the  seclusions  of  monasteries,  we  find 
frequent  mention  of  unexpected  and  heavy  temptations. 
Often  did  the  world,  in  the  shape  of  evil  desires  and  vain 
imaginations,  follow  them  to  their  lonely  retreats.  It  is 
related  of  St.  Jerome,  whose  devout  writings  still  edify 
the  church,  that,  in  the  ardor  of  his  young  piety,  he 
thought  he  could  successfully  escape  the  temptations  of 
luxurious  cities,  and  perfect  his  inward  experience,  by 
dwelling  alone  in  the  solitary  deserts  of  Syria.  In  the 
midst  of  those  vast  plains,  scorched  by  the  burning 
sun,  he  sat  down  alone,  emaciated,  disfigured,  with  no 
companion  but  wild  beasts.  Strong  were  his  resolu- 
tions ; great  were  his  sufferings ; many  were  the  peni- 
tential tears  which  he  shed  ; — but,  in  the  midst  of  this 
desolation  and  of  these  flowing  tears,  he  informs  us  that 
his  busy  imagination  placed  before  him  the  luxuries  of 
Rome  and  the  attractions  of  her  thoughtless  voluptua- 
ries, and  renewed  the  mental  tortures  which  he  hoped 
he  had  escaped.^ 

To  be  secluded,  therefore,  in  body  is  not  enough.  To 
be  alone  in  caves  and  in  forests  is  not  necessarily  to  be 
alone  with  God. 

3.  Nor  is  this  all.  We  may  properly  remark,  further, 
that  true  spiritual  solitude,  which  always  implies  the 
special  operations  of  divine  grace,  is  not  merely  mental 
solitude.  It  is  not  the  solitude,  even  when  added  to  that 
of  the  body,  of  a merely  disappointed  and  impenitent 
mind ; of  the  mind  as  it  now  is. 

The  mind  may  become  so  intensely  selfish  that  even 
the  world  cannot  supply  its  wants.  How  many  persons, 
the  victims  of  intense  avarice,  of  burning  sensuality,  of 
overleaping  ambition,  have  renounced  and  cursed  the 

* See  Pantheon  Litteraire.  CEuvres  de  St.  Jerome. 


240 


DIVINE  UNION. 


world,  because  even  the  world,  with  all  its  adaptedness 
to  their  desires,  could  not  give  all  that  they  asked  ! Men 
of  wealth,  voluptuaries,  statesmen,  warriors,  kings,  worn 
out  with  indulgence,  or  disappointed  in  their  boundless 
aspirations,  have  separated  themselves  from  society, 
when  probably  it  did  not  occur  to  them  to  separate  from 
themselves.  In  forests  and  in  dens  of  the  earth,  and 
wherever  they  could  flee  away,  and  shut  themselves  up 
alone,  they  have  poured  forth,  not  their  prayers  to  God, 
but  their  misanthropy  and  hate  against  man.  In  leav- 
ing the  world  behind  them,  they  have  carried  in  their 
hearts  that  which  gave  the  world  its  evil  and  its  sin. 

4.  True  spiritual  solitude,  in  being  something  more 
than  solitude  of  the  body,  and  something  more  than 
solitude  of  the  unholy  mind,  is  solitude  from  that  in  the 
mind^  whatever  it  may  ]>e,  which  tends  to  disunite  and 
dissociate  it  from  God. 

The  soul,  in  the  state  of  interior  solitude,  is  in  a state 
of  solitude  or  separation  from  two  things,  in  particular, 
namely,  from  its  own  desires  and  its  own  thoughts.  It 

IS  SEPARATE  FROM  ITS  OWN  DESIRES.  Sick  of  the  WOrld, 

if  thou  wouldst  erect  an  inward  oratory,  and  enter  into 
the  secret  place  of  the  heart,  then  let  it  be  thy  first  pur- 
pose, as  it  certainly  is  an  indispensable  one,  to  cease 
from  all  desire,  except  such  as  God  himself  animates. 
In  order  to  control  the  desires,  and  bring  them  into  sub- 
jection to  God,  it  is  necessary  to  control  the  senses. 
The  desires  must  have  their  appropriate  objects ; and  in 
a multitude  of  cases  the  objects  are  made  known  by  the 
senses.  Keep  a close  walch,  therefore,  upon  the  senses. 
Let  not  your  eyefest  upon  anything  which  is  forbidden. 
Let  not  your  ear  listen  to  any  corrupting  or  unprofitable 
conversation ; but  be  as  one  who  has  no  sight,  and  no  hear- 
ing, and  no  touch,  and  no  taste  for  anything,  except 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


241 


whai  God  allows  and  is  pleased  with.  Contend  with 
all,  because  all  have  gone  astray.  Crucify  all,  because 
all  have  crucified  him,  who  is  the  Eternal  Life.  Sepa- 
rate from  all,  so  far  as  they  have  separated  from  God ; 
in  order  that  being  united  with  them  in  th§ir  truth,  you 
may  be  united  with  the  God  of  truth, 

5.  The  soul,  in  a state  of  spiritual  solitude,  is  in  a 
state  of  solitude  or  separation,  also,  from  its  own  thoughts. 
By  its  own  thoughts  are  meant  thoughts  which  are  self- 
originated^  and  have  selfish  ends.  When  all  such 
thoughts,  as  well  as  all  desires  which  are  not  from  God, 
are  extinct,  the  inward  solitude  is  greatly  increased. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  state  of  spiritual  soli- 
tude does  not  exclude  all  thoughts  from  the  mind ; but 
only  those  which  are  its  own^  which  are  seM-originatedy 
and  which  tend,  therefore,  to  dissociate  it  from  God. 
Accordingly,  it  does  not  exclude  those  thoughts,  to  what- 
ever subjects  they  may  relate,  of  which  God  may 
properly  be  regarded  as  the  author.  And  it  is  proper  to 
say  here,  in  order  to  determine  what  thoughts  are  from 
God  and  what  are  not,  that  thoughts  which  are  from 
God  are  characterized  by  this  mark,  in  particular,  that 
they  always  harmonize  with  the  arrangements  of  his 
providence.  Thoughts,  which  arise  from  the  instiga- 
tions of  self,  and  not  from  a divine  movement,  are  not 
in  harmony  with  what  God  in  his  providential  arrange- 
ments would  desire  and  choose  to  suggest ; but,  on  the 
contrary,  they  busy  themselves  with  recollections  and 
images  of  persons,  things,  and  plans,  which  are  whoLy 
inconsistent  with  such  arrangements.  All  conceptions 
of  persons,  things,  and  situations,  all  imaginations,  all 
thoughts,  and  all  reasonings,  which,  in  coming  in  our 
own  will,  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  existing  provi- 
dential arrangements,  are  not  only  not  from  God,  but 
21 


242 


DIVINE  UNION. 


they  constitute  so  many  disturbing  influences;  which 
separate  God  from  the  soul.  The  evil  is  inexpressibly 
great.  In  the  truly  holy  soul,  which,  after  many  tempta- 
tions and  hesitancies,  is  fully  established  in  the  way  of 
holiness,  thoughts  so  discordant  and  out  of  place  are 
not  permitted  to  enter.  It  stands  apart,  if  one  may  so 
express  it,  constituting  an  unoccupied  space,  a closet  shut 
up,  a still  and  sacred  seclusion,  unapproachable  to  every- 
thing which  comes  unbidden  by  its  great  Master. 

6.  Again,  the  true  solitude  of  spirit,  in  the  full  import 
of  the  terms,  may  be  regarded  as  including,  to  some 
extent  at  least,  a cessation  or  solitude  from  words.  If 
speech  is  a blessing  when  it  is  under  the  regulation  of 
holy  principles,  it  is  a source  of  great  and  almost  unmiti- 
gated evil  when  it  proceeds  from  unsanctified  passions. 
And  when  we  consider  how  closely  and  extensively  it  is 
connected  with  such  passions,  we  have  good  reason,  at 
least  in  a multitude  of  cases,  for  regarding  silence  as  a 
sign  of  moderation,  truth,  and  peace.  To  say  nothing 
but  what  is  appropriate,  to  say  nothing  but  what  Christ 
would  say,  bearing  reproaches  without  reply,  and  utter- 
ing the  truth  in  love,  is  a virtue,  which  is  a product  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  which  belongs  to  him  only  who 
has  been  taught  of  God.  The  speech  of  him  who  is  | 
the  subject  of  spiritual  solitude,  like  everything  else  that  I 
comes  within  the^reach  of  moral  obligation,  is  under  the  | 
restrictions  of  a divine  law  ; and  he  can  no  more  speak  j 
without  God  to  guide  him  in  his  utterance,  than  he  can  ' 
do  anything  else  without  God.  In  being  silent,  with 
the  exception  of  those  occasions  in  which  the  providence  1 
of  God  calls  him  to  speak,  he  has  sundered  one  of  the 
strong  links,  which  would  otherwise  have  bound  him  to 
what  is  vain,  frivolous,  and  wicked  in  the  world. 

7.  It  may  be  added  here,  that  solitude  from  words  is  \ 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


243 


not  solitude  from  communication.  The  soul  that,  in 
consequence  of  its  sanctification,  does  not  speak  out- 
ward to  things  that  are  temporal,  speaks  inward  to 
things  that  are  eternal.  And  in  proportion  as  it  ceases 
from  those  communications  with  men  which  God  does 
not  call  for  and  does  not  authorize,  it  increases  its  com- 
munications with  God  himself. 

8.  And  these  last  remarks  indicate  the  true  result  of 
spiritual  solitude,  when  it  is  rightly  understood  and 
experienced.  The  soul  is  not  left  alone  with  itself^  — 
which  would  be  much  the  same  as  to  say,  that  it  is  left 
alone  with  Satan,  — but  is  left  alone  with  God,  who  is 
Eternal  Life.  Separation,  in  its  spiritual  application,  is 
not  only  seclusion,  but  transition.  Separation  from  the 
world,  when  predicated  of  a being  to  whom  absolute 
separation  is  an  impossibility,  is  transition  to  God ; and 
he  who  is  not  of  the  world,  is  of  God ; alone  and  in 
unison  at  the  same  time ; in  solitude  from  that  which  is 
evil,  but  in  union  with  that  which  is  good.  He  has  hid- 
den himself,  not  in  the  dark  and  weak  enclosure  which 
selfishness  furnishes  to  those  who  do  not  believe,  but  in 
the  strong  fortress  of  the  Infinite.  He  is  not  only  loitk 
God,  but  in  him  ; not  only  in  harmony  of  action,  but  in 
the  sacred  enclosure  of  his  being : — so  that  God  may 
be  said,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  to  compass  him 
round  about.^^  No  noise  of  unholy  thoughts,  no  sug- 
gestions of  unhallowed  reason,  no  clamors  of  unsatisfied 
desire,  no  confusion  of  the  tongues  of  men,  nothing  that 
is  hurtful,  nothing  that  is  unprofitable,  reaches  him. 
“ As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the 
Lord  is  round  about  his  people.’’  Ps.  125:  2. 


CHAPTER  XP. 


A TR13E  CONFORMITY  WITH  PROVIDENCE  IMPLIES  THE  NAT- 
URAl.  OPERATIONS  OF  AN  INWARD  LIFE,  AND  NOT  MERELY 
THE  INSTIGATIONS  OR  COMPULSIONS  OF  CONSCIENCE. 

Of  the  central  life.  ■ — Definition  of  it.  • — Use  of  terms  in  conformity  with 
the  definition.  — Of  the  life  of  God.  — Reference  to  the  statements  in 
former  chapters.  — Of  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  — Passages 
of  Scripture. — A true  harmony  with  Providence  is  the  harmony  of 
love  and  choice,  and  not  of  compulsion.  — Of  law  in  connexion  with  life. 

In  endeavoring  to  explain  the  union  of  the  soul  with 
God,  in  providence,  we  have  repeatedly,  either  specifi- 
cally or  by  implication,  spoken  of  it  as  a duty.  It  is  a 
thing  req^uired  by  conscience.  The  common  forms  of 
language,  which  recognize  the  sentiment  of  duty  much 
more  fully  than  they  do  a principle  of  holy  life  operat- 
ing by  its  own  nature,  seemed  to  require  these  methods 
of  expression.  We  think  it  proper  to  add  here,  however, 
in  order  to  prevent  misapprehensions,  that  union  with 
God,  in  any  case,  on  the  ground  of  compulsion  of  con- 
science alone,  does  not  meet  and  fulfil  that  higher  view 
of  union,  which  we  have  endeavored  to  explain,  and 
which  all  Christians  should  aim  to  realize.  It  is  very 
true,  that  the  facts  and  the  law  of  Providence  constitute 
what  may  properly  be  called  the  souVs  home ; — both 
the  place  of  its  residence,  and  the  place  and  condition  of 
its  action.  But  that  home  is  to  be  entered  and  occupied 
by  a soul  which 'has  the  instinct  of  adaptation,  the  beau- 
tiful life  of  harmony  m itself ; and  not  by  one,  which  is 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


245 


harmonized  with  its  position  by  the  regulative  power  of 
an  exterior  compulsion.  And  as  we  are  desirous,  with 
the  grace  of  God,  of  doing  a little  towards  restoring 
and  clearing  up  the  doctrine,  not  merely  of  conversion 
to  God,  but  of  life  in  God,  which  is  the  appropriate  and 
true  result  of  the  incipient  step  involved  in  conversion, 
eve  propose  here  to  give  a few  further  explanations  in 
regard  to  this  central  life. 

2.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  we  are  now 
speaking,  not  of  vegetable  or  animal  life,  but  of  life  as 
it  exists  in  moral  beings,  — the  souVs  life.  And,  accord- 
ingly, life  in  moral  beings  is  that  central  moving  princi- 
ple, which  brings  such  being§  into  action,  and  which 
gives  a direction  to  their  action. 

This  definition  corresponds  with  the  views  which 
men  commonly  take  of  human  actions,  and  with  the 
language  which  they  frequently  employ.  Of  the  avari- 
cious man,  for  instance,  how  often  is  it  said,  that  his 
love  of  money  is  his  life ! Of  the  ambitious  man,  also, 
who  toils  night  and  day  for  his  beloved  object,  we  fre- 
quently say,  and  we  say  it  with  as  much  truth  as  fre- 
quency, that  his  love  of  power  is  his  life.  In  each  of 
these  cases,  and  in  every  other  modification  of  our  fallen 
and  selfish  nature,  there  is  always  some  elementary, 
but  controlling  desire,  which  is  the  inspiration  of  move- 
ment, the  hidden  impulse  of  activity.  And  it  is  also 
true,  that  we  use  the  same  language  in  cases  which  are 
very  different  from  these.  We  see,  for  instance,  a hum- 
ble and  devoted  Christian,  who  prays  much,  and  reads 
his  Bible  much,  and  is  continually  doing  good;  — and 
how  natural  it  is  to  say  of  such  an  one,  that  religion  is 
his  life ! A life  of  some  kind,  an  elementary  impulse 
beyond  and  above  every  other,  is  the  necessary  attribute 
of  every  moral  being. 

21^ 


246 


DIVINE  UNION. 


3.  And  if  this  be  the  case,  the  inquiry  naturally 
arises  here,  — What  is  life  in  God?  Or,  in  other  words, 
what  is  that  elementary,  self-moving,  and  self-instiga- 
tive  principle  in  God,  which  constitutes  the  life  of  God? 
It  is  this  inquiry,  which  we  have  already  endeavored  to 
answer  and  explain  in  the  first  and  second  chapters  of 
Part  IV.  of  this  Work.  The  life  of  God  is  love  ; — holy 
love ; — love  uncreated  and  eternal,  because  God,  who  is 
uncreated  and  eternal,  could  not  exist  without  it ; — love, 
without  hope  of  reward;  — love  of  everything  which  ex- 
ists, simply  because  it  does  exist; — love,  which  is  found- 
ed in  the  truth,  and  which  harmonizes  with  justice. 

4.  It  may  be  proper  to  .recall  here  a passage  from  one 
of  the  preceding  chapters,  to  which  we  have  just  re- 
ferred. It  is  this  : — It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  in 
relation  to  God,  that  love  stands  as  the  centre  of  his 
being.  Far  more  than  anything  else,  it  is  the  essential 
element  of  his  life  as  God.  It  is  true,  it  is  preceded  in 
the  order  of  nature  by  faith.  This  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  notice.  In  the  natural  order,  faith  is  the 
antecedent  of  love,  and  is,  also,  its  necessary  condition. 
But  while  it  can  be  truly  said,  that  both  faith  and  love 
have  their  appropriate  place,  and  that  both  are  essential, 
it  is  also  true,  that  love,  considered  as  an  element  of  the 
divine  nature,  stands  nearer  the  centre  of  existence.^  and 
contains  in  itself  the  motive  or  active  principle  of  being. 
All  other  things  are  subordinate  to  it.  Infinite  space 
and  infinite  time  are  its  locality ; infinite  knowledge  is 
its  minister  and  handmaid;  the  conscience  is  its  guard, 
pronouncing  within  and  without,  its  moral  value ; the 
will  executes  its  decrees;  but  the  moving  principle,  the 
essence,  the  life  of  the  Infinite  as  God^  that  which 
gives  inspiration  to  knowledge,  motion  to  power,  and 
impulse  to  tlie  will,  is,  and  must  be,  love.” 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE.  247 

5 And  again,  if  it  be  inquired,  — What  is  life,  (that 
is  t3  say,  the  true  life,)  — in  man^  — the  answer  is  the 
same.  It  is  pure  or  holy  love ; and  it  differs  from  the 
same  love  in  God,  only  in  this  respect,  — in  the  one  it  is 
finite,  in  the  other  it  is  infinite ; in  the  one  it  is  derived, 
in  the  other  it  is  eternal. 

Scougall  has  entitled  his  remarkable  work  on  the 
higher  religious  experience,  — The  Life  of  God  in  the 
^oul  of  Man.  The  title  is  mystical^  (that  is  to  say,  it 
is  mysterious  or  obscure  to  those  who  do  not  understand 
it,)  but  it  has  its  meaning.  The  life  of  God  is  the  un- 
created and  self-moving  principle  in  God  of  holy  love. 
And  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man  is  the  same  prin- 
ciple of  holy  love,  diffused  from  its  eternal  source,  and 
become  ‘localized,”  if  we  may  so  express  it,  in  man^s 
soul.  In  both  cases,  both  in  the  infinite  personality, 
and  in  the  finite  personality,  in  God  and  in  man,  it  is 

the  LIFE. 

And  these  views  help  us  to  explain  many  passages 
of  Scripture,  which  have  an  important  meaning.  The 
existence  of  an  inward  principle,  both  in  the  Son  of  God 
and  in  the  Father,  — a principle  which  may  properly  be 
called  their  Zi/e,  — seems  to  be  asserted  in  the  Gospel  of 
John,  fifth  chapter,  26th  verse:  — “For  as  the  Father 
has  life  in  himself^  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to 
have  life  in  himself P That  is  to  say,  there  is  an 
eternal  principle  of  life  in  God,  as  we  have  endeavored 
to  show  and  explain  in  former  chapters ; and  that  life 
which  is  in  God,  is  communicated  from  him  to  the  Son. 
And  it  may  be  added,  that  this  life,  which  is  commu- 
nicated from  the  Father  to  the  Son,  the  life  of  eternal 
purity  and  love,  is  communicated  from  the  Son  to  all 
who  are  born  from  the  death  of  nature  into  the  true 
life  of  grace.  And  hence  the  expressions  in  the  next 


248 


DIVINE  UNION. 


chapter:  — I am  the  bread  of  life  — in  other  words, 
the  living  source  of  guidance  and  salvation  to  others ; — 
of  whom  it  may  further  be  said,  that  they  are  truly 
guided  and  truly  saved,  only  when  they  have  the  true 
life  imparted  to  them.  And,  again,  the  Saviour  says 
in  another  passage:  — ‘-'He,  that  heareth  my  word,  and 
believeth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life;”  — 
not  merely  everlasting  physical  existence,  but  that  ever- 
living  and  life-giving  principle  of  holy  love,  which  con- 
stitutes the  true  life.  And,  again,  he  says : — Whoso- 
ever drinketh  of  the  water  I shall  give  him,  shall  never 
thirst ; but  the  water  that  I shall  give  him,  shall  be  in 
him  a well  of  water,  springing  up  to  everlasting  life.” 
God  is  the  infinite  and  ever-living  ocean  of  love; — en- 
circling every  being,  and  everywhere,  by  the  necessary 
impulses  of  his  nature,  urging  admission  into  the  hearts 
that  are  susceptible  of  love.  And  just  as  soon  as  Christ, 
who  is  the  “ way  and  the  truth,”  as  well  as  the  ‘4ife,” 
opens  the  hearts  of  men  by  the  mighty  power  which  is 
in  him,  then  God’s  life  becomes  man’s  life;  — and  the 
fountain  which  is  in  man  is  ever-living,  because  it  is 
supplied  from  a source  which  is  ever  full.  And,  again, 
in  the  first  chapter  of  the  same  Gospel,  it  is  said  of 
the  Saviour : — “In  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the 
of  men.”  That  is  to  say,  in  Him  was  the  living 
life-giving  principle  of  unselfish  benevolence,  the 
sam^N^rinciple  which  constitutes  the  life  of  the  Father ; 

and  manifestation  of  this  principle  was  the  lights 
in  other  wbs^^  instruction  of  men.  The  embody- 
ing in  ChristJ\^p  “impersonation,”  if  we  may  so 
express  it,  in  unselfish  and  perfect  benevo- 

lence, could  not  faVi  to  teach  them  their  own  fallen 
condition,  by  placing  contrast  with  the  superior 


excellence,  which  was 


revealed  to  them. 


UNIOxN  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


249 


And  expressions  of  this  kind,  though,  perhaps,  not 
very  common,  are  entirely  in  accordance  with  the  nature 
and  facts  of  things.  This  principle  of  holy  love  is  so 
much  superior  to  every  other,  that  the  person  or  being 
who  possesses  it,  is  very  properly  called  the  living  one, 
the  one  that  has  life^  or  even  the  life  itself.  There  are 
no  other  expressions  in  the  language,  which  meet  the 
case  so  exactly.  And  in  accordance  with  what  has  been 
said,  we  find  again,  in  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  the  fol- 
lowing expressions : — ‘‘The  life  was  manifested,  and 
we  have  seen  it,  and  bear  witness,  and  show  unto  you 
that  ETERNAL  LIFE,  which  was  with  the  Father,  and 
which  was  manifested  to  us.’’ 

The  opposite  of  this  living  and  divine  principle  is 
death.  And  men,  who  are  not  in  the  life  of  holy  love, 
by  which  they  become  united  with  the  life  of  God,  are 
said  to  be  dead ; — in  the  language  of  Paul  to  the  Ephe- 
sians, — “ dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.” 

6.  To  recur  here  again  to  the  subject  of  a superin- 
tending Providence,  we  wish  to  say  now,  that  the  har- 
mony with  Providence,  which  constitutes  union  with 
God,  is  not  the  harmony  of  mere  conviction  and  com- 
pulsion, but  the  harmony  of  love; — -not  the  harmony 
of  necessity,  but  the  harmony  of  choice.  In  other 
words,  having  the  true  life  in  our  own  souls,  namely, 
the  principle  of  holy  love,  — the  principle  of  love  to 
God  and  love  to  man,  — we  must  live  in  the  midst  of 
the  divine  providences,  as  in  our  natural  and  true  home. 

It  may,  perhaps,  in  a certain  sense,  be  said  of  the 
slave,  in  his  inability  to  escape  from  his  prison  and  his 
chains,  that  he  harmonizes  with  them.  But  he  does  not 
do  it  in  the  same  sense,  unless  he  has  the  same  grace  of 
God  in  his  heart,  in  which  Paul  and  Silas  did,  when 
they  made  their  prison  resound  with  their  songs.  That 


250 


DIVINE  UNION. 


central  life,  which  consists  in  holy  love,  and  not  the  con- 
science, which  is  merely  the  guard  of  the  life,  lays  the 
foundation  for  unity. 

We  repeat,  therefore,  that  we  are  to  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  God’s  providences  by  the  choice  and  harmonizing 
power  of  a new  and  loving  nature ; — not  merely  because 
we  ought  to  be  there,  but  because  we  love  to  be  there ; — 
being  held  in  our  position,  not  by  the  compulsions  of  an 
exterior  force,  but  by  the  loving  attraction  of  our  own 
souls.  Anything  short  of  this  is  merely  an  adjustment 
of  position  forced  from  without,  and  not  an  union  sought 
for  and  demanded  from  within ; — the  union  of  an  arbi- 
trary arrangement,  and  not  the  union  of  a harmoniz- 
ing life. 

7.  But  in  saying  that  those  who  truly  harmonize 
with  Providence,  do  it  by  the  impulse  of  a natural  life 
rather  than  by  law,  we  do  not  mean  to  say  or  imply, 
that  the  life  either  in  God  or  man,  is  life  without  law. 
When  the  soul  is  right,  by  having  the  true  life  at  its 
centre,  the  law  is  necessarily  hidden  in  it.  The  holy 
soul  is  a law  to  itself,  in  a higher  sense  than  that  in 
which  the  Apostle  says,  the  Gentiles  are  a law  to  them- 
selves — because  the  law  is  not  only  proclaimed  with- 
in, but  is  fulfilled  within;  — is  not  only  developed  in  the 
conscience,  but,  what  is  infinitely  more,  is  realized  in 
the  heart. 

When  the  law  is  thrown  out  of  the  heart  by  rebellion, 
it  necessarily  assumes  a position  in  relation  to  the  heart 
All  EXTRA.  Whether  proclaimed  in  the  conscience,  or 
still  more  outwardly,  in  the  formal  and  published  an- 
nouncement, it  takes  a position,  relatively  to  the  central 
element,  which  may  properly  be  described  as  exterior ; 
--becoming,  as  it  were,  a “flaming  sword,”  which 
tlashes  around,  and  threatens  that  interior  nature  from 


UNION  IN  PROVIDENCE. 


251 


which  it  has  been  expelled.  It  proclaims,  it  remon- 
strates; and  in  the  end,  if  no  heed  is  given  to  it,  it 
destroys. 

But  in  respect  to  the  elementary  principle  or  life  of 
the  holy  soul,  it  may  very  properly  be  said,  that  the  law 
exists,  not  out  of  it,  but  in  it.  In  other  words,  the  soul, 
in  its  highest  or  central  principle  of  movement,  is  both 
life  and  law.  And,  what  is  worthy  of  notice,  the  law 
exists  in  the  life,  almost  without  being  known;  — a 
voice  without  utterance;  — silent  and  peaceful,  and  yet 
powerful;  — silent,  because  it  is  heard  instinctively, 
without  the  formality  and  the  noise  of  an  announce- 
ment ; — peaceful,  because  it  is  received  and  obeyed  from 
the  love  of  itself,  and  not  from  fear  of  its  penalty;  — 
powerful  as  that  still,  small  voice’’  of  God,  which  is 
stronger  than  the  wind  and  the  earthquake.  In  the  last 
days  the  great  ocean  of  life  shall  flow  into  all  the  sub- 
ordinate channels ; — one  nature,  one  principle  of  move- 
ment, but  infinitely  diversifled.  In  those  days,  men,  in 
being  inwardly  taught,  shall  everywhere  have  both  the 
life  and  the  law  in  the  life ; — that  is  to  say,  in  that  cen- 
tral element  of  holy  love,  that  heart  of  hearts,  without 
which  the  soul  can  always  be  justly  described  as  dead. 

For  this  is  the  covenant  that  I will  make  with  the 
house  of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord.  I will 
put  my  laws  into  their  minds  and  write  them  in  their 
hearts  ; and  I will  be  to  them  a Godj  and  they  shall  be 
to  me  a people,^ ^ — Heb.  8 : 10. 


PART  SEVENTH. 


UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  WORK  OF  MAN^S  REDEMPTION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OF  THE  SUCCESSIVE  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE  PLAN  OF 
KEDEMPTION. 

Of  the  two  great  periods  in  the  history  of  redemption.  — Outline  of 
the  first  period.  — Remarks  on  the  principles  of  the  Old  Testament. 
— Of  the  second  great  period.  — Reference  to  the  personal  history 
of  Christ.  — Those  who  are  now  in  the  world  are  called  upon  to  be 
like  him.  — Of  the  efibrts  and  tendencies  of  the  present  age.  — The 
final  struggle  at  hand. 

Among  the  wonderful  works  of  God  there  is  none 
more  worthy  of  attention,  none  more  important  in  its 
results,  hoth  to  this  world  and  to  other  worlds,  than  that 
of  man’s  redemption.  Man,  in  the  exercise  of  that  free- 
dom of  choice  which  God  had  given  him,  had  no  sooner 
fallen  into  sin  and  consequent  ruin,  than  God  announced 
to  him,  though  at  first  obscurely,  the  great  plan  of  sal- 
vation. As  all  Adam’s  posterity  were  involved  in  his 
fall,  the  plan  of  redemption,  which  has  a relation  to  the 
whole  human  race  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  occupies  a 
great  extent  of  time.  Beginning  with  the  promises  to 
Adam  and  the  early  patriarchs,  which  were  at  first 
obscurely,  and  afterwards  more  clearly,  made,  it  gradu- 
ally unfolds  itself  in  successive  dispensations;  but  at 
last  we  see  it  in  ^distinctness  and  as  a whole. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  253 

The  plan  of  human  redemption  may  be  divided,  for 
the  purpose  of  more  distinct  views  of  it,  into  two  great 
periods; — including  some  subordinate  distinctions  and 
periods,  to  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  particular 
attention  here. 

2.  The  first  period  is  that  which  is  antecedent  to  the 
coming  of  Christ ; — comprehending  the  whole  interval 
of  time  from  the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  hour  of  the  Sav- 
iour’s birth.  The  second  period,  having  no  conclusion 
which  is  definitely  anticipated  and  known  by  men, 
extends  from  the  advent  of  Christ  to  the  termination, 
whenever  it  may  take  place,  of  human  history. 

In  the  first  period,  the  only  account  of  which  is  to  be 
found  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  have  the 
affecting  records  of  human  sin  and  sorrow,  interspersed 
with  intimations  of  better  things  to  come.  At  an  early 
period,  God,  who  is  merciful  in  his  judgments,  selected 
a peculiar  people,  a chosen  generation,  to  whom  he 
made  his  communications,  and  through  whom  other 
nations  and  ages  have  been  taught  how  widely  they 
have  wandered,  and  in  what  way  they  may  expect  to 
return.  It  is  in  this  period  that  we  find  the  histories  of 
Noah,  of  Abraham,  of  Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel,  David, 
and  many  others,  whose  lives  and  labors  are  connected 
in  various  ways  with  the  great  remedial  plan.  It  is  here 
that  we  find  prophecy  added  to  prophecy ; — the  faint 
intimation  uttered  to  the  sorrowing  hearts  of  Adam  and 
Eve,  that  ‘‘  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the 
serpent’s  head;”  — the  promise  to  the  patriarch  Abra- 
ham, that  in  his  seed  ^^all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
should  be  blessed ; ” — the  prophetic  declaration  of  Jacob, 
“ the  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a lawgiver 
from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come;” — the  re- 
markable saying  of  God  to  Moses,  — a saying  generally 
22 


254 


UNION  WITH  GOU. 


understood  by  commentators  to  have  a special  applica- 
tion to  Christ,  the  greatest  of  prophets,  — I will  raise 
them  up  a Prophet  from  among  their  brethren  like  unto 
thee,  and  will  put  my  words  in  his  mouth;’’  — and  the 
prophecies  of  Christ’s  coming,  and  of  a better  and  more 
glorious  period,  prophecies  specific  in  statement  and 
sublime  in  imagery,  which  are  found  in  the  writings  of 
Isaiah.  ^ 

3.  It  is  here,  in  this  first  period,  that  we  find  intima- 
tions and  declarations  of  God’s  abhorrence  of  sin ; the 
announcement  on  Mount  Sinai  of  the  eternal  princi- 
ples of  the  moral  law,  which  sin  had  obliterated  or  ob- 
scured in  the  human  heart ; and  indications,  some  of 
them  of  terrible  import,  that  the  relations  between  sin 
and  suffering  are  unchangeable,  and  that  iniquity  can- 
not go  unpunished.  The  Tabernacle  and  the  Temple, 
during  successive  generations,  ministered  in  the  devel- 
opment and  inculcation  of  these  great  truths.  Priests 
and  Levites,  in  the  performance  of  their  allotted  duties, 
helped  to  illustrate  and  confirm  them.  They  had  an 
expression  in  offerings  and  sacrifices,  which  declared 
the  hopes  as  well  as  the  transgressions  of  the  world.  It 
was  by  means  of  the  bleeding  sacrifices  in  particular 
that  the  Jews  were  taught,  and  other  nations  were  des- 
tined to  be  taught  through  them,  that  without  the 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission.” 

The  portion  of  human  history,  which  is  illustrated  in 
the  records  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  exceedingly  inter- 
esting and  important.  The  principles  which  are  incul- 
cated, (all  those  truths  and  principles  which  have  rela- 
tion to  God,  to  man’s  spiritual  nature,  to  sin,  redemption, 
and  holiness,)  are  the  same  as  those  in  the  New;  — less 
distinctly  revealed,  but  not  diffeimg  in  nature.  The 

* Gen.  3 : 15  ; 22:  18.  Dent.  18  : 15,  18.  Isa.  53. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  255 

New  is  the  complement  and  fulfilment  of  the  Old.  And 
it  will  be  found  true,  that  the  Old  Testament  will  be 
valued,  — its  history,  its  poetry,  its  prophecies,  its  types, 
will  be  studied  and  gratefully  appreciated,  — just  in  pro- 
portion as  the  spirit  of  the  New  is  felt  and  realized  in 
the  human  heart. 

4.  The  second  period  in  the  history  of  the  great  work 
of  man’s  redemption  may  be  regarded  as  beginning  with 
the  advent  of  Christ,  which,  in  being  the  completion  of 
a former  order  of  things,  was  itself  the  commencement 
of  a new  order.  This  new  order  or  dispensation  of 
things  will  be  completed  only  when  the  objects  for 
which  Christ  came,  are  secured  by  the  redemption  and 
permanent  renovation  of  the  human  race. 

The  events  occurring  in  the  first  period  were  merely 
preparatory ; — of  them  having  relation  to  the  Sav- 
iour’s coming  and  to  those  events  and  results  which  were 
connected  with  his  coming.  Before  the  Saviour’s  birth 
there  had  been  labors  and  sufferings ; — there  had  been 
teachings  and  prophecies,  and  ceremonies  and  sacrifices 
innumerable.  And  yet,  they  all  were  comparatively  of 
no  value,  and  had  no  effect,  except  in  connection  with- 
the  advent  of  the  Son  of  God ; much  had  been  done  pre- 
paratively,  but  nothing  had  been  done  effectually.  It 
was  Christ’s  coming  which  explained  the  import  of  pre- 
ceding institutions  and  events,  and  which  gave  them 
their  efficacy.  And,  therefore,  until  this  period,  it  could 
not  be  said  of  the  human  race  generally,  nor  of  any  part 
of  the  human  race,  Ye  are  bought  with  a priced 

In  the  language  of  President  Edwards,  who  refers,  in 
his  remarks,  to  the  period  of  Christ’s  coming,  ‘‘No  part 
of  the  price  was  offered  till  now.  But  as  soon  as  Christ 
was  incarnate,  then  the  purchase  began  immediately 
without  any  delay,  and  the  whole  time  of  Christ’s  humil- 


256 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


iatioii,  from  the  morning  that  Christ  began  to  be  incar- 
nate, till  the  morning  that  he  rose  from  the  dead,  was 
taken  up  with  his  purchase.  And  then  the  purchase 
was  entirely  and  completely  finished.”  * 

5.  But  if,  in  the  language  of  President  Edwards,  the 
purchase  was  completely  finished,”  it  was  not  accepted 

and  not  even  known  by  those  for  whose  benefit  it  was 
made,  except  to  a very  limited  extent.  If  the  purchase 
was  completed,  the  plan  of  salvation  was  not  completed. 
It  still  remained  necessary  that  those  who  were  lost, 
those  for  whom  this  great  work  of  suffering  and  redemp- 
tion was  thus  brought  to  a close,  should  hear  and  under- 
stand the  announcement  of  this  “joyful  sound.”  The 
completion  of  the  plan  of  salvation  required  from  the 
beginning,  and  does  now  require,  that  the  Gospel,  the 
good  news  of  redemption,  should  be  preached  to  every 
creature.  In  connection  with  what  the  Saviour  had 
done,  it  could  be  said,  with  great  and  emphatic  truth, 
that  the  prison  doors  of  a falleh  race  were  thrown  open; 
— but  those  who  were  in  the  prison  were  so  blind,  and  so 
in  love  with  their  own  wretchedness,  that  it  had  become 
necessary  to  teach  them  their  sin  and  their  blindness, 
and  to  take  them  by  the  hand  and  to  lead  them  out  into 
the  purchased  liberty. 

The  plan  of  salvation,  therefore,  in  its  second  period, 
is  still  in  progress,  and,  this  being  the  case,  there  still 
remains  a great  work  to  be  done ; — a work  in  which 
holy  men  have  been  engaged  from  the  time  of  Christ ; — 
a work  in  which  they  will  continue  to  be  engaged,  until 
the  last  darkened  mind  is  enlightened,  the  last  ruined 
soul  is  saved. 

6.  In  order  to  understand  and  feel  the  spirit  of  this 
rew  dispensation  of  things,  in  order  to  harmonize  suc- 

* Edwards^  History  of  Redemption,  Period  II. , part  1st. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  R E D E M P T I O N . 257 


cessfully  in  the  prosecution  of  the  plan  of  redemption 
as  it  is  now  in  progress,  it  is  important  to  he  well 
acquainted  with  the  personal  history  of  Christ.  Study 
Christ,  that  ye  may  be  like  him. 

How  affecting  is  the  simple,  yet  wonderful  story  of 
the  Saviour’s  life  ! Behold  him,  the  ruler  and  king  who 
had  been  so  long  predicted,  making  his  appearance,  not 
in  the  splendor  of  the  palace,  but  in  the  humility  of  the 
manger  ! See  him,  as  if  the  powers  of  darkness  trem- 
bled before  his  infancy,  carried  in  his  mother’s  arms  a 
fugitive  into  Egypt ! Mark  the  early  developments  of 
his  wisdom,  as  he  converses  and  reasons  with  the 
learned  Jewish  teachers  in  the  Temple ! Appreciating 
the  great  truth  of  a Divine  Providence,  which  requires 
the  adjustment  of  action  to  circumstances,  he  said  to 
John  the  Baptist,  — ^‘It  becometh  us  to  fulfil  ^11  right- 
eousness.” And  accordingly,  in  his  domestic  relations, 
he  fulfilled,  in  meekness  and  love,  the  duties  of  a son  and 
brother.  In  relations  of  ‘ a more  general  and  public 
nature,  he  conformed  to  the  civil  and  religious  institu- 
tions of  his  country  ; — rejoicing  in  what  was  good,  and 
submitting  to  what  was  imperfect  and  evil,  because  the 
day  of  its  destruction  had  not  arrived.  Full  of  divine 
sympathy,  he  w^ent  about  doing  good;  but  without  the 
spirit  of  boasting,  and  without  observation.”  The 
appointed  renovator  of  the  world,  he  may  be  said  to 
have  restored  institutions  'prospectively^  by  sowing  great 
principles  which  were  to  germinate  and  bear  fruit  in  the 
appropriate  hour  of  Providence.  He  was  a man;  — but, 
unlike  man  in  his  fallen  and  depraved  state,  he  was  a 
man  dwelt  in  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  descended  visibly 
upon  him.  Baptized  of  John  in  the  waters  of  the  Jordan, 
— teaching  men  with  heavenly  wisdom,  and  at  the  same 
time  exemplifying  in  his  life  the  principles  of  eternal 
22'^' 


258 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


truth  and  love,  — persecuted  but  never  avenging  himself, 
— in  all  situations  and  under  all  circumstances,  he  realizes 
and  exemplifies  the  full  idea  of  the  Son  of  God.  His 
last  act  is  to  die,  not  for  himself,  but  for  others;  — ^‘The 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.’’ 

7.  In  the  matter  of  union  with  God  in  the  great  work 
of  the  world’s  redemption,  “ Christ  is  our  example^ 
Those  who  are  now  in  the  world,  called  upon  to  realize 
its  situation,  and  to  labor  for  its  restoration,  can  be  in 
union  with  God  only  so  far  as  they  have  Christ’s  spirit. 
There  is  a sense  in  which  it  can  be  said,  with  great 
truth,  that  holy  souls  are  the  perpetuation  of  Christ. 
We  are  called  upon,  therefore,  to  be  just  what  Christ 
would  be  if  he  were  now  living.  If  he  were  now  on 
earth,  it  is  certain  that  he  would  live,  and  labor,  and 
suffer  for  the  completion  of  that  great  object  for  which 
he  lived  and  suffered  so  many  centuries  ago.  In  the 
same  spirit  of  meekness,  in  the  same  fixedness  of  pur- 
pose, in  the  same  readiness  to  act  and  to  endure,  he 
would  say  now,  as  then,  ^‘I  come  to  do  thy  will.” 

8.  It  is  a matter  of  gratitude,  however  obvious  may 
be  the  delinquencies  of  Christians,  that  something  of  the 
true  spirit  of  Christ  still  lives.  This  spirit  has  developed 
itself  with  increased  truth  and  energy  in  more  recent 
times.  The  remark  is  often  made,  and  there  seems  to 
be  a foundation  for  it,  that  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century  was  the  commencement  of  a new  and 
better  series  of  ages.  The  closing  years  of  the  last  cen- 
tury were  signalized  by  the  prevalence  of  infidelity,  and 
by  crime  and  violence,  almost  unexampled.  In  the 
extremity  of  those  sufferings  and  sorrows,  which  were 
the  natural  result  of  their  infidelity,  men  began  to  look 
to  God,  and  to  believe  in  him  as  alone  able  to  give  them 
help.  An  increase  of  faith  naturally  inspired  love ; and 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  259 

the  new  series  of  ages  has  been  honorably  distinguished 
by  deeds  of  benevolence. 

It  is  a great  and  cheering  truth,  that  the  progress  of 
the  church  cannot  be  separated  from  the  progress  of 
humanity.  And  probably  more  has  been  done  by  Chris- 
tians for  the  elevation  of  the  human  race,  during  the  last 
half  century,  than  during  any  previous  period  of  equal 
length,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  the  period  denomi- 
nated the  apostolic  age.  Within  the  period  of  half  a 
century  how  many  benevolent  institutions  have  been 
founded!  How  many  missionaries  have  been  sent  to 
heathen  lands  I What  mighty  changes  and  improve- 
ments have  taken  place  in  administrations  and  forms  of 
government ! What  efforts  have  been  made  to  enlighten 
the  ignorant,  to  relieve  the  poor,  the  oppressed,  the 
dumb,  the  blind,  the  insane ! How  changed  is  the  pub- 
lic sentiment  in  relation  to  war ! — and  how  widely  dis- 
seminated, compared  with  the  state  of  things  at  any 
former  time,  is  the  sentiment  of  universal  brotherhood 
and  good-will  to  man ! 

9.  These  and  many  other  favorable  results  have  been 
witnessed,  chiefly  through  the  influence  and  exertions 
of  Christians,  and  by  the  mighty  power  of  the  religious 
sentiment.  Christians  have  done  much,  not  only  be- 
cause they  desired  to  do  much,  but  because  they  believed. 
They  begin  to  understand,  more  than  in  former  periods, 
the  mighty  results  of  simple  trust  in  God.  It  is  a senti- 
ment found  in  the  great  poet  of  the  ancient  Romans, 
that  faith,  even  in  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life,  is  power, 
“ PossuNT  Qui  POSSE  viDENTUR.”  And  if  much,  in  accord- 
ance with  this  sentiment,  can  be  done  by  the  natural 
man  with  the  aids  and  strength  of  natural  faith,  how 
much  more  can  be  done  by  those,  who,  in  adding  reli- 


260 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


gious  to  natural  faith,  are  aided  by  the  promises  and  the 
power  of  God ! 

But  what  has  been  witnessed  during  the  last  half  cen- 
tury is  only  the  beginning.  The  mighty  power  of  divine 
• faith  strengthens  itself  day  by  day.  If  to-day  the  man 
of  faith  can  arrest  the  listening  ear  of  warring  nations, 
to-morrow  he  may  expect  to  hear  the  last  sound  of  their 
cannon.  Every  step  that  he  takes  gives  him  increased 
strength  for  effort  and  increased  influence.  If  to-day  he 
can  plant  his  missionary  stations  in  Africa,  in  China,  in 
Syria,  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  to-morrow,  by  effort 
added  to  effort,  and  by  faith  added  to  faith,  he  may 
expect  to  see  the  foundations  of  the  old  idolatry  totter, 
and  its  temples  fall. 

10.  Engage,  therefore,  in  the  great  work  of  man’s 
redemption.  Engage  in  it,  not  in  human  strength,  not 
under  the  influence  of  human  excitement,  but  in  Christ’s 
strength,  under  the  leadings  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in 
the  fixedness  and  calmness  of  everlasting  principle. 

The  day  in  which  we  live,  if  we  regard  either  the 
intimations  of  prophecy  or  the  signs  of  the  times,  is  the 
day  of  the  last  struggle.  Everything  indicates  that  the 
powers  of  light  and  darkness  are  marshalling  themselves 
for  a contest  greater  than  any  which  has  preceded  it. 
Humanity  must  rise  now,  or,  we  have  reason  to  fear, 
that  it  will  sink  forever.  Whatever  may  be  the  result 
of  the  struggle,  there  is  but  one  course  for  those  who 
would  either  seek  or  maintain  their  union  with  God, 
and  that  is,  to  possess  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and,  like  him, 
to  toil,  to  suffer,  and  to  die  if  it  be  necessary,  for  the 
renovation  of  a fallen  and  suffering  race. 


CHAPTER  II. 


OF  THE  THREE  FORMS  OF  REDEMPTION,  PHYSICAL,  MENTAL, 
AND  SOCIAL. 

Of  man’s  primitive  place  of  residence.  — The  beauty  of  the  earth  will 
be  restored  again,  when  man  is  made  holy.  — Of  the  restoration  of 
man’s  physical  system.  — Of  the  restoration  of  the  lower  orders  of 
creation.  — Of  mental  or  personal  redemption.  — Of  social  redemp- 
tion. 

There  are  three  forms  of  redemption,  physical,  men- 
tal or  personal,  and  social.  When  man,  as  the  head  of 
creation,  fell  into  sin,  it  may  be  said,  with  a great  degree 
of  truth,  that  the  physical  creation  fell  with  him.  There 
are  connections  and  sympathies  between  man  and  the 
outward  or  physical  world,  which  are  not  well  under- 
stood, and  are  not  likely  to  be  well  understood,  in  the 
present  state  of  things.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  in 
a world  destined  to  be  the  home  of  holy  and  happy 
beings,  the  outward  will  correspond  to  the  inward,  the 
objective  to  the  subjective,  the  home  to  the  inhabitant 
It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  God,  who  delights  in  the  beau- 
tiful as  well  as  in  the  good,  to  surround  a holy  being 
Avith  barrenness  and  deformity,  and  to  compel  him  to 
take  up  his  abode  among  thorns  and  thistles.  The 
world  was  and  must  have  been  beautiful  as  the  happy 
souls  that  dwelt  in  it.  Originally  the  earth  was  every- 
where clothed  with  its  green  and  pure  carpet;  fruits, 
suitable  to  the  support  of  its  holy  inhabitants,  hung  from 
the  branches  of  richly  laden  trees,  and  flowers  sprang 


262 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


up  at  their  feet.  “Out  of  the  ground  made  the  liord 
God  to  grow  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and 
that  is  good  for  food.” 

2.  When  man  became  a sinner  his  beautiful  home 
changed  its  character,  and  became  adapted  to  sinners. 
God  said  unto  Adam,  “Because  thou  hast  eaten  of  the 
tree,  of  which  I commanded  thee,  saying,  Thou  shalt 
not  eat  of  it ; cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ; in  sor- 
row shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life.  Thornr 
also,  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  unto  thee ! ” It 
is  not  without  reason,  therefore,  that  the  poet  Milton,  in 
allusion  to  the  consequences  of  Adam’s  fall,  says : 

Earth  felt  the  wound ; and  nature  from  her  seat, 

Sighing  through  all  her  works,  gave  signs  of  woe 
That  all  was  lost.’’ 

And,  as  if  the  earth  were  really  as  well  as  figuratively 
conscious"  of  the  great  change  which  it  had  undergone, 
the  Apostle  says,  in  very  remarkable  language  : — “ For 
we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  trav~ 
aileth  together  in  pain  until  nowP^ 

3.  When  holiness  is  restored  to  man,  whose  fall  was 
the  cause  of  its  being  blighted,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  fruitfulness  will  again  return  to  the  earth. 
Its  beauty  also,  as  well  as  its  fruitfulness,  will  be  rees- 
tablished. Its  defaced  outlines  will  gradually  be  restored, 
and  its  tints  retouched.  There  will  no  longer  be  storms 
and  tempests.  The  cold  of  winter  and  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer will  be  tempered  to  that  degree  of  heat  and  cold 
which  will  be  best  suited  to  the  renovation  of  the  earth, 
and  also  to  man’s  condition  and  happiness.  That  gold- 
en age,  when  the  air,  the  earth,  and  the  waters,  will  all 
contribute  to  bring  forth  the  perfect  and  the  beautiful, — 


* Romans  8 : 22. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  263 


that  primitive  age  of  delights,  of  which  we  have  the 
tradition  in  many  nations,  — will  return  again. 

The  swain,  in  barren  deserts,  with  surprise. 

Sees  lilies  spring  and  sudden  verdure  rise  ; 

And’ starts,  amid  the  thirsty  wilds,  to  hear 
New  falls  of  water  murmuring  in  his  ear.’’ 

4.  Nor  will  these  results  be  limited  to  outward  nature. 
Man  himself  will  be  restored  physically.  Now,  bowed 
down  with  many  infirmities,  the  subject  of  many  severe 
and  wasting  diseases,  he  has  lost  that  dignity  and  beauty 
which  once  attached  to  him.  As  he  recovers,  through 
the  grace  of  God,  from  the  controlling  influence  of  inor- 
dinate desires,  his  physical  appetites  will  seek  those 
objects  which  are  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
physical  nature;  and  he  will  use  them,  whatever  they 
may  be,  in  the  proper  manner.  Holiness,  by  directing 
him  to  those  things  which  can  be  rightly  used,  will  give 
purification  and  erectness  to  that  which  sin  has  polluted 
and  prostrated.  And  it  is  one  of  the  favorable  signs  of 
the  times,  that  the  attention  of  men,  roused  at  last  to 
observe  the  connection  between  moral  and  physical 
disorder,  is  already  so  widely  directed  to  this  subject. 
Those  who  are  in  unity  with  God  in  their  modes  of  liv- 
ing, find  a restoration  of  health,  of  strength,  and  of 
physical  enjoyment,  such  as  will  vindicate  the  goodness 
of  God,  and  illustrate  the  import  of  the  declaration  of 
Scripture,  that  ^‘Godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things, 
having  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which 
is  to  come.’’^ 

5.  And,  as  incidentally  connected  with  these  views,  it 
may  properly  be  added,  that  the  various  forms  of  the  ani- 
mal creation  inferior  to  man  will  probably  participate  in 


* 1st  Timothy  4 : 8. 


264 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


some  degree  in  the  renovation  and  blessedness  of  that 
better  time. 

Nor  is  this  a merely  fanciful  view.  It  has  its  founda- 
tion in  the  nature  of  things.  Every  system  of  things 
has  a unity,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  a correspond- 
ence and  harmony  of  existence.  All  beings,  for  instance, 
which  live  upon  the  same  earth,  breathe  the  same  air, 
and  are  sustained  by  the  same  heavenly  Father,  neces- 
sarily have  ties  of  relationship,  which  are  sacred  and 
eternal.  The  earth  is  wisely  and  expressly  fitted  for 
the  support  of  a great  system  of  life,  — a system  which 
may  be  said,  in  its  outward  forms  at  least,  to  be  elabo- 
rated from  its  OAvn  elements, — a system  infinitely  vari- 
ous in  its  manifestations,  but  still  bearing  everywhere 
the  marks  of  a divine  unity.  Of  this  great  system  man 
stands  at  the  head ; but  he  is  not  on  that  account  sep- 
arate from  the  foot.  All  the  inferior  parts  of  creation 
may  be  said  to  embody  something  which  finds  its 
resultant  and  its  completion  in  man.  It  is  to  him  they 
tend ; — it  is  in  him  they  find  their  unity.  They  hardly 
have  more  of  true  adaptation  of  position,  without  man, 
than  the  inferior  limbs  of  his  own  body  can  have  life 
and  adaptation  without  the  head  which  controls  them. 

So  long,  therefore,  as  man  kept  his  original  position, 
and  was  fully  united  with  God,  so  long  he  sustained 
relations  of  harmony  and  unity  with  all  inferior  beings;  — 
not  excepting  the  worm  beneath  his  feet.  These  rela- 
tions were  disturbed  by  his  fall.  But  the  Gospel,  which 
once  more  restores  man  to  his  proper  place,  will  restore 
all  which  is  necessarily  connected  with  him.  There  is 
nothing  in  nature,  either  in  its  material  or  its  sentient 
forms,  which  will  not  experience  the  effects  of  that  great 
change,  which  it  must  be  admitted  is  destined  primarily 
and  chiefly  to  raise  and  bless  man,  who  is  the  head  and 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  265 

the  crown  of  nature ; so  that  trees,  and  flowers,  and 
birds,  and  all  living  things,  will  have  occasion  to  rejoice 
in  the  consequences  involved  in  Christ’s  coming.  In  the 
language  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  The  mountains  and  the 
hills  shall  break  forth  before  you  into  singing;  and  all 
the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their  hands.”^  And  if 
the  trees  and  mountains  shall  clap  their  hands,  much 
more  will  this  figurative  but  beautiful  language  be  true 
of  the  hunted  and  bleeding  beast  and  bird  which  inhabit 
them. 

6.  But  thus  beginning  at  the  lower  and  advancing  to 
the  higher,  we  proceed  to  say,  that  redemption  is  felt, 
and  is  designed  to  be  felt,  more  than  anywhere  else,  in 
man’s  fallen  spirit.  There  is  a mental,  as  well  as  a 
physical,  redemption ; and  the  mental  or  personal  is  as 
much  more  important  than  the  physical,  as  mind  holds 
a higher  rank  and  is  more  important  than  matter. 

The  restoration  of  man  is  primarily  a restoration  of 
the  affections.  When  man  fell,  his  affections  changed 
their  centre;  and  that  love,  which  at  first  centred  in 
God,  afterwards  centred  in  himself.  Being  disunited 
from  the  true  centre,  he  never  afterwards  could  be  truly 
united  with  anything,  except  those  things  which  adhered 
to  himself  as  their  centre.  In  this  state  of  separation 
from  God,  and  of  sin  against  God,  he  is  redeemed  from 
the  penalty  of  sin  by  accepting  that  forgiveness  which 
is  offered  through  Jesus  Christ. 

But  it  is  important  to  remember  that  there  are  two 
offers  involved  in  that  great  work,  which  Christ  came  to 
accomplish;  — the  one  is,  forgiveness  for  the  past,  and 
the  other  is,  a new  life  in  God  for  the  future.  A new 
life  in  'God,  which  implies  entire  reconciliation  with  God 
as  its  basis,  could  not  be  offered  to  man,  until  the  penalty 

* Isaiah  55 ; 12. 

23 


266  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

of  the  old  transgression  was  remitted.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  remission  of  the  penalty  of  the  past 
would  he  wholly  unavailing,  without  the  permanent 
restoration  of  a divine  and  living  principle  in  man’s 
spiritual  part. 

7.  The  great  result,  therefore,  of  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion, when  fully  carried  out  in  relation  to  man,  is  to 
restore  him  to  such  a position  of  harmony  with  God, 
that  he  may  he  said  ever  afterwards  to  live  in  and  from 
God.  Nothing  short  of  this  is  redemption  ; — nothing 
short  of  this  is  worthy  to  he  thought  of  and  to  he 
regarded  as  redemption. 

And  this  great  result, — a result  on  which  depends  union 
or  separation,  life  or  death,  happiness  or  woe,  — is  made 
to  turn  upon  his  own  free  choice.  It  is  not  left  to  him, 
however,  to  choose  a mixed  or  middle  course.  And  the 
reason  is  that  there  is  no  such  course.  ^^Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  mammon.”  There  can  he  hut  one  true 
life,  and  that  is  life  from  God.  Our  heavenly  Father, 
dwelling  in  man  as  the  Divine  Teacher  or  Comforter, 
must  he  the  the  true  life  and  the  whole  life  in  us, 

or  he  can  he  nothing.  And  this  is  a matter,  which,  as 
a moral  agent,  man  is  called  upon  to  decide  for  him- 
self;— namely,  whether  God,  without  dividing  his  influ- 
ence with  any  other  master  or  teacher,  shall  he  his 
inward  life,  and  thus  he,  in  all  coming  time,  the 
inspiration  and  source  of  all  good.  This  choice  is  given 
him  in  Christ.  If  he  accepts  God,  he  lives.  If  he 
rejects  him,  he  dies. 

8.  In  the  day  of  his  true  restoration,  therefore,  God 
once  more  really  dwells  in  man.  We  do  not  say,  how- 
ever, that  he  actually  enters  and  takes  full  possession 
at  once.  Just  as  soon  as  man  gives  his  exiled  Father 
permission  to  enter  as  a whole  God  and  a God  forever 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  267 

he  enters  effectually;  but  ordinarily  he  enters  by  degrees^ 
and  in  accordance  with  the  usual  laws  and  operations  of 
the  human  mind.  He  does  not  break  the  vessel  of 
man’s  spirit,  nor  mar  its  proportions,  nor  deface  anything 
which  is  truly  essential  to  it ; but  gradually  enters  into 
all  parts  of  it,  readjusts  it,  removes  the  stains  which  sm 
had  made  upon  it,  and  fills  it  with  divine  light.  Man’s 
business  in  this  great  work  is  a very  simple  one.  It  is 
to  cease  all  resistance,  and  to  invite  the  Divine  Master  of 
the  mind  to  enter  it  in  his  own  time  and  way.  And 
even  this  last  is  hardly  necessary.  God  does  not  wait 
even  to  be  invited  to  come,  except  so  far  as  an  invitation 
is  implied  in  the  removal  of  the  obstacles  which  had 
previously  kept  him  out.  Man’s  ceasing  from  all  resist- 
ance, and  his  willingness  to  receive  God  as  the  all  in  all, 
and  for  all  coming  time,  may  be  regarded  as  essentially 
the  completion  of  the  work  in  respect  to  himself;  but 
the  work  of  God,  who  is  continually  developing  from 
the  soul  new  powers  and  new  beauties,  can  be  completed 
only  with  the  completion,  of  eternity. 

9.  In  connection  with  what  has  now  been  said,  we 
may  understand  what  is  meant  by  the  second  form  of 
redemption,  or  mental  redemption.  But  this  is  not  all 
that  is  involved  in  the  great  work  of  Christ.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  redemption  of  the  individual,  which  of  course 
is  involved  in  the  redemption  of  the  mind  of  the  indi- 
vidual, there  is  also  social  redemption ; that  is  to  say, 
man  is  redeemed  and  elevated  in  all  his  relations, — 
not  only  as  a man,  but  as  the  member  of  a family,  as  a 
neighbor,  as  a citizen.  In  all  these  respects,  just  so  soon 
as  he  has  become  the  subject  of  a new  life,  received 
from  the  great  Author  and  Master  of  life,  he  is  not 
merely  guided  by  the  ordinary  sympathies  of  our  nature, 
and  the  ordinary  sentiments  of  duty,  but  by  those  sym- 


268 


UNION  WITH  GOD 


pathies  at  .d  sentiments  as  they  are  purified  and  height- 
ened by  the  perfected  influences  of  religion.  As  society 
in  its  various  modifications  is  made  up  of  individuals 
associated  with  other  individuals,  the  redemption  and 
elevation  of  the  whole  mass  will  correspond  to  the 
redemption  and  elevation  of  the  individual.  And  man 
cannot  become  godlike  by  unity  with  God,  — he  cannot 
say  with  the  apostle,  Christ, — which  is  an  expression 
for  the  true  image  and  power  of  God,  — liveth  in 
without  diffusing  the  image  of  the  inward  Divinity  over 
every  relation  he  sustains,  over  every  association  of 
which  he  is  a member.  And  thus  the  families  and 
societies  of  earth,  under  the  purifying  influences  and 
power  of  religion,  will  reflect  the  brightness  of  the  fami- 
lies and  societies  of  heaven. 


\ 


CHAPTER  III. 


OF  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  WORK  OF  MENTAL  OR  PER- 
SONAL REDEMPTION. 

References  to  the  prophet  Isaiah.  — Remarks.  — Of  man’s  union  with 
God  in  the  work  of  his  own  restoration.  — References  to  the  prophet 
Malachi.  — Of  inward  death  or  crucifixion.  — Spiritual  crucifixion 
followed  by  spiritual  resurrection.  — Of  the  soul’s  new  life. 

Concerning  the  ultimate  effects  of  Christ’s  coming 
upon  the  material  world,  and  upon  the  inferior  orders  of 
creation,  effects  which  are  incidentally  Connected  with 
man’s  restoration,  who  is  the  head  of  the  whole  system, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  add  anything  to  the  few  remarks 
already  made.  With  one  or  two  passages,  therefore, 
from  the  prophet  Isaiah,  we  leave  that  view  of  the  sub- 
ject. Of  the  restoration  of  the  earth,  he  says:  ^‘The 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  he  glad  for  them; 
and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  It 
shall  blossom  abundantly,  and  rejoice  even  with  joy  and 
singing.  The  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  be  given  unto  it, 
the  excellency  of  Carmel  and  Sharon.”  ^ Of  the  ani- 
mal creation,  he  says:  “The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with 
the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid; 
and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together, 
and  a little  child  shall  lead  them.”  f 

*Isa.  35:1,  2.  f Isa.  11:6. 

23^ 


270 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


2.  It  may  undoubtedly  be  said  of  these,  and  other 
similar  passages,  that  they  are  figurative.  But  it  will 
be  found,  in  the  end,  that  the  truth  which  they  anticipate 
and  predict  will  exceed  the  beauty  of  the  picture,  as  it 
existed  in  the  imagination  of  the  prophetic  poet.  When 
the  head  of  creation  resumes  his  nature  of  holy  love,  the 
jLintamed  and  violent  passions  of  the  inferior  members 
will  become  extinct.  And  the  earth  herself,  as  if  con- 
scious of  the  mighty  change,  will  withdraw  her  thorns, 
and  crown  herself  with  roses. 

3.  But  our  great  business  now  is  with  man.  What- 
ever other  things  may  be  involved  incidentally  in  the 
work  of  redemption,  the  great  object  of  Christ’s  coming 
is  the  restoration  of  man.  And  pursuing  the  subject  of 
the  union  of  man  with  God  in  this  new  aspect,  namely, 
in  the  work  of  redemption,  the  question  arises  here,  how 
can  man  be  said  to  be  united  with  God  in  the  work  of 
his  own  restoration  ? 

Various  ansfvers  might  be  given  to  this  inquiry.  A 
full  examination  of  the  subject  involved  in  the  inquiry 
would  exceed  our  limits.  We  propose,  therefore,  to 
make  but  few  remarks  upon  it.  Our  first  remark  is  this. 
Man  corresponds  in  his  position,  and  may  be  said  to  be 
united  with  God  in  the  work  of  his  personal  recovery, 
when  he  willingly  and  firmly  yields  his  disfigured  spirit 
to  the  restoring  power  of  the  hands  of  the  great  work- 
man. In  other  words,  he  unites  with  God  in  his  own 
restoration,  when  he  lets  the  great  Master  of  the  mind 
work  upon  him. 

4.  There  is  an  illustration  of  the  subject  to  be  found 

in  the  prophet  Malachi:  Who  may  abide  the  day  of  his 

coming?”  says  the  prophet,  “and  who  shall  stand 
when  he  appeareth?  for  he  is  like  a refiner^ s fire  and 
like  fuller^ s soap.  And  he  shall  sit  as  a refiner  and 


UNION  TN  THE  WORK  OF  R E D E M P T I O N.  271 

purifier  of  silver ; and  he  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi, 
and  purge  them  as  gold  and  silver,  that  they  may  offer 
unto  the  Lord  an  offering  of  righteousness,'^^ 

The  great  trouble  with  men  is,  even  when  they  have 
some  sense  of  religion,  and  begin  to  estimate  its  value, 
that  they  are  unwilling  to  let  the  Spirit  of  God  perform 
his  appropriate  work  upon  them.  Sin  has  attached  itseK  ^ 
to  the  spirit’s  surface,  like  dross  to  the  pure  gold.  Not 
more  insinuating  than  it  is  adhesive,  it  intertwines  itself 
with  man’s  powers  and  mental  exercises  with  indescriba- 
ble strength ; so  much  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  separate  the 
good  from  the  evil,  to  detach  the  pure  from  the  impure. 
And  it  never  can  be  done  efiectually  and  truly  without 
the  operations  of  that  omniscient  Spirit,  which  are 
quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit.”  ^ 

5.  We  cooperate,  therefore,  with  God,  in  the  work  of 
personal  redemption,  when  we  submit  to  this  divine 
operation  without  reluctance ; — willing  to  be  placed  in 
the  crucible,  and  to  be  subjected  to  the  fiercest  flames  till 
everything  evil  is  consumed  and  taken  away.  This  is 
what  some  ancient  experimental  writers  call  deaths  that 
is  to  say,  death  to  nature,  or  rather  to  the  corruptions  of 
nature.  Occasionally  varying  the  expressions  they  em- 
ploy, they  sometimes  call  it  crucifixion  or  inward  cruci- 
fixion. As  Christ  died  in  the  body,  say  these  writers, 
so  we  lafiust  die  in  the  spirit;  — as  Christ  was  crucified 
and  laid  in  the  tomb,  so  we,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  must 
be  crucified  and  be  laid  in  the  tomb  with  him.  The 
expressions,  though  they  may  sound  singularly  to  some, 
convey  a great  truth,  which  has  a permanent  foundation 
in  the  principles  of  morals  and  religion.  We  cannot  be 


*Heb.  4:  12. 


272 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


allied  with  God  without  freedom  from  sin.  To  be  free 
from  sin  is  obviously  to  die  to  sin.  And  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  die  to  sin,  without  going  through  that  process  of 
inward  crucifixion,  which  is  the  antecedent  of  death. 

6.  But  it  is  a great  mistake  to  suppose,  that  those,  who 
go  dp^n  into  the  tomb  ,by  the  death  of  their  earthly  or 
^efisual  life,  must  remain  there ; — as  if,  because  they 
are  dead  to  sin,  they  must  therefore  be  dead  to  human- 
ity. We  become  dead  to  one  system  of  life,  which  is 
wholly  evil,  that  we  may  become  alive  to  another,  which 
is  intrinsically  and  wholly  good.  And  as  we  cooperate 
with  God  in  our  crucifixion,  by  submitting  to  all  the 
pains  he  inflicts ; so  we  cooperate  with  him  in  our  spirit- 
ual resurrection  by  voluntarily  accepting  the  terms  by 
which  he  becomes  in  us  a new  life.  And  the  only  terms 
which  God  does  or  can  propose,  are,  that  he  shall  be 
All  in  All  to  the  soul; — becoming  its  life  just  as  truly, 
though  under  different  circumstances  and  in  a different 
way,  as  he  is  the  life  of  the  material  universe,  — just  as 
truly  as  he  is  the  life  or  life-giving  principle  of  plants 
and  trees,  and  of  the  instincts  of  the  lower  animals.  If 
plants  and  trees  grow  by  their  own  law  of  growth,  ij  is 
still  true  that  God  is  in  the  law.  If  animals  move  by 
their  own  law  of  movement,  it  is  still  true  that  the  cen- 
tral principle  of  the  law  of  movement  is  a divine  power. 
And  if  the  holy  man  acts,  it  . is  still  true  that  God  acts  in 
him.  And  the  only  difference  between  this  case,  and 
those  which  have  just  been  mentioned,  is  this,  (^od  acts 
in  the  holy  man  in  connection  with,  and  perhaps  we 
should  say,  in  subordination  to,  his  own  choice. 

7.  Men  have  made  a mistake  in  locating^  if  we  may 
so  express  it,  the  action  of  man’s  free  agency.  The  true 
action  of  man’s  moral  agency  is  found,  not  in  the  choice 
of  particulars,  but  in  the  choice  of  the  universal;  — not 


tlNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  273 

in  deciding  upon  this  particular  thing  or  that  particular 
thing,  which  he  cannot  do  with  certainty  on  account  ot 
his  limited  powers,  but  in  committing  his  power  of 
choice  into  God’s  hands,  and  choosing  God  to  choose  for 
him. 

There  are  dilFerent  degrees  of  union  in  the  work  of 
redemption,  as  there  are  different  degrees  of  union  in 
other  things.  But  in  the  case  of  the  man  who  fully 
unites  with  God  in  the  work  of  his  personal  recovery, 
the  choice  which  we  have  just  mentioned  is  the  choice 
which  is  actually  made  by  him,  — made  for  the  present 
and  made  for  the  future,  made  now  and  made  forever ; 
— namely,  the  substitution,  at  the  present  time  and  in 
all  time  to  come,  of  the  divine  choice  for  his  own.  His 
choice  is  to  let  God  choose  for  him,  — to  cease  to  lead 
himself,  that  he  may  be  led,  not  in  some  things  merely, 
but  in  all  things,  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  alienates 
himself,  that  he  may  be  possessed  by  another ; and  he 
does  it,  because  he  has  in  another  that  degree  of  confi- 
dence and  hope,  which  he  does  not  and  cannot  have 
in  himself.  He  ceases  from  his  own  thoughts,  that  God 
may  think  in  him  and  for  him ; — he  ceases  from  his 
own  desires,  that  God  may  inspire  in  him  true  and  heav- 
enly desires ; — he  relinquishes  his  own  purposes,  that 
ne  may  fulfil  the  purposes  of  God  and  of  God  only.  He 
is  buried  a dead  Adam ; and  so  renewed  and  beautified 
are  the  features  of  his  nature,  that  he  may  be  said,  in  a 
mitigated  sense  of  the  terms,  to  be  raised  again  a living 
Christ, 

8.  A few  words  of  explanation  should,  perhaps,  be 
offered  here.  A philosophical  difficulty  suggests  itself, 
which  it  is  proper  to  meet.  How  is  it  possible  that  God 
should  become  operative  in  this  manner,  in  the  human 
mind,  consistently  with  its  nature  and  laws  ? It  is  obvi- 


274 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


ous  that  thought,  desire  and  volition,  are  essential  to 
man’s  nature,  and  are  in  fact  embraced  in  the  very  idea 
of  man.  It  is  a matter  of  necessity  that  the  human 
mind  shall  act  by  thinking  and  desiring,  and  in  other 
ways,  in  the  appropriate  time  of  its  action.  All  this  is 
true.  And  it  is  equally  true  that  all  human  action, 
when  it  is  what  it  ought  to  be,  is  divine  action.  And 
this  is  always  the  case,  (namely,  human  action  is  what 
it  ought  to  be  and  becomes  divine,)  when  the  power  of 
action,  which  exists  in  man’s  nature,  is  brought  out  in 
its  appropriate  issues,  not  by  human  preference,  but  by 
the  decisions  of  Providence, 

The  difficulty  is  met,  therefore,  by  a proper  adjust- 
ment of  the  relations  existing  between  God  and  man. 
The  divine  and  the  human  are  made,  if  we  may  so  ex- 
press it,  to  go  together.  Nothing  is  gained  either  by  the 
exclusion  of  God  or  by  the  extinction  of  humanity. 
Undoubtedly  man  must  act  when  the  time  of  action 
comes.  Action  is  his  nature.  It  cannot  be  otherwise. 
But  if  the  action  is  decided,  not  by  subjective  or  personal 
preferences,  not  by  a regard  to  himself,  but  by  a regard 
to  the  whole^  including  himself,  — in  other  words,  by  the 
divine  intimations  of  an  overruling  Providence,  — then  it 
is  true,  that  the  action,  which  is  his  own,  is  also  God^s; 
and  that  by  his  own  choice,  which  is  to  have  no  choice 
out  of  God,  the  thing  done,  which  would  otherwise  be 
merely  human,  comes  to  bear  the  radiant  stamp  of 
divinity. 

9.  Without  mentioning  other  devout  men,  we  may 
properly  repeat  here,  as  being  in  harmony  with  some  of 
the  views  hitherto  given,  the  expressions  of  the  learned 
and  venerable  John  Arndt,  whose  name  is  deservedly 
dear  to  the  Christian  world.  “If  thou  believest,”  he 
says,  “ that  Christ  was  crucified  for  the  sins  of  the 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  275 


world,  thou  must  with  him  be  crucified  to  the  same.  If 
thou  refusest  to  comply  with  this,  thou  canst  not  be  a 
living  member  of  Christ,  nor  be  united  with  him  by 
faith.  If  thou  believest  that  Christ  is  risen  from  the 
dead,  it  is  thy  duty  to  rise  spiritually  with  him.  In  a 
word,  the  birth,  cross,  passion,  death,  resurrection  and 
ascension  of  Christ,  must^  after  a spiritual  manner^  be 
transacted  in  thee.^'^  And  again  he  remarks  in  another 
place:  — Let  us  renounce  wholly  our  own  strength, 
our  own  wisdom,  our  own  will  and  self-love,  that,  being 
thus  resigned  to  God  alone,  we  may  suffer  his  power 
freely  to  work  in  us,  so  that  nothing  may,  in  the  least, 
oppose  the  will  and  operations  of  the  Lord.’’=^ 

10.  I am  aware  that  this  is  a hard  doctrine  to  the 
natural  heart.  It  strikes  heavily  upon  that  feeling  of 
self-confidence,  which  is  one  of  the  evil  fruits  of  our 
fallen  condition.  But,  as  it  respects  myself,  if  I may  be 
allowed  in  humility  of  spirit  to  refer  to  my  own  feelings, 
it  is  a doctrine  which  is  inexpressibly  dear  to  me.  I 
have  been  taught  for  many  years,  and  by  painful  experi- 
ence, that  I can  place  no  confidence  in  my  own  thoughts, 
feelings,  or  purposes.  In  none  of  these  respects  can  I 
be  my  own  keeper.  On  the  contrary,  I have  seen,  with 
the  greatest  clearness,  that  to  be  left  to  myself,  either  in 
these  respects  or  in  anything  else,  is  always  to  be  left  in 
sin.  And  so  great  has  been  my  anguish  of  spirit,  in 
view  of  my  entire  inability  to  guide  myself^  aright,  that 
I could  only  pray  that  I might  be  struck  out  of  existence 
and  be  annihilated,  or  that  God  would  return  and  keep 
that  which  I could  not  keep  myself. 

* Arndt’s  True  Christianity,  Vol.  i.,  pr  342,  355,  — London  edition, 
edited  by  Jaques. 


276 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


IF  THOU,  0 GOD,  WILT  MAKE  MY  SPIRIT  FREE. 

If  thou,  O God,  wilt  make  my  spirit  free, 

Then  will  that  darkened  soul  be  free  indeed ; 

I cannot  break  my  bonds,  apart  from  thee  ; 

Without  thy  help  I bow,  and  serve,  and  bleed. 
Arise,  O Lord,  and  in  thy  matchless  strength, 
Asunder  rend  the  links  my  heart  that  bind. 

And  liberate,  and  raise,  and  save  at  length 
My  long  enthralled  and  subjugated  mind. 

And  then,  with  strength  and  beauty  in  her  wings. 
My  quickened  soul  shall  take  an  upward  flight. 
And  in  thy  blissful  presence.  King  of  kings. 

Rejoice  in  liberty,  and  life,  and  light. 

In  renovated  power  and  conscious  truth. 

In  faith  and  cheerful  hope,  in  love  and  endless  youth. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OF  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION  IN  REI.A- 
TION  TO  OTHERS. 

Man’s  great  business,  after  his  own  recovery,  to  aid  in  recovering 
others.  — The  command  of  Christ  to  preach  the  Gospel.  — Keference 
to  the  writings  of  Paul  on  the  same  subject.  — Of  the  missionary 
spirit  in  early  times.  — The  duty  of  the  present  age. — Of  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  as  exercised  at  home.  — Of  our  dependence  upon  the 
Holy  Spirit.  — Reference  to  Richard  Mather. 

Man^s  first  great  work  is  personal ; and  has  reference 
to  his  own  restoration.  To  renounce  his  separation,  and 
to  unite  himself  with  God,  is  a work  which  cannot  be 
postponed  or  made  subservient  to  any  other.  Being, 
by  God’s  grace,  personally  restored  to  a better  state,  his 
next  business  is  to  aid  in  the  restoration  of  others. 
And,  in  doing  this,  the  first  thing  is  to  extend  the 
announcement  of  Christ’s  coming,  and  of  the  blessed 
influences  connected  with  it ; — in  other  words,  to  preach 
the  Gospel. 

2.  The  last  words  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  as  they  are 
recorded  in  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  were  these  : “And 

Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them,  saying.  All  power  is 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye,  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; — 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I have 
commanded  you ; and  lo,  I am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.” 

The  command  of  the  Saviour  is  explicit.  The  apos- 
24 


278 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


tie  Paul  inculcates  the  same  great  duty,  and  assigns  an 
obvious  and  urgent  reason  for  it.  Whosoever  believeth 
on  him  shall  not  be  asharhed.  For  there  is  no  difference 
between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek ; for  the  same  Lord 
over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him.  For  who- 
soever shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
saved.  How,  then,  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom 
they  have  not  believed?  And  how  shall  they  believe  in 
him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ? And  how  shall 
they  ITear  without  a preacher?  And  how  shall  they 
preach  except  they  be  sent  ? As  it  is  written,  How 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the  Gospel  of 
peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things ! 

3.  In  the  early  periods  of  the  Christian  era,  the  com- 
mand of  the  Saviour  met  with  a prompt  and  believing 
response.  The  primitive  Christians,  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  their  Divine  Master,  went  abroad  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  spread  everywhere  the  news  of  a Saviour 
crucified,  a Saviour  risen.  Laborious,  and  full  of  faith 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  not  only  endured  all  things, 
but  suffered  all  things;  not  hesitating  to  lay  down 
their  lives  in  support  of  the  great  truths  they  declared. 
At  no  time  since  have  these  efforts  of  the  church  alto- 
gether ceased;  although  in  some  periods  they  have  not 
been  made  with  the  same  degree  of  wisdom  and  earnest- 
ness. But  while  we  remember  the  delinquencies  of 
Christians,  it  is  pleasing  to  reflect,  that  the  followers  of 
Christ,  at  the  present  time,  under  different  names,  but 
animated  by  the  same  spirit,  seem  to  be  preparing  for  a 
final  and  victorious  conflict.  It  appears  to  be  their  design 
and  hope,  with  the  divine  favor  resting  upon  their  labors, 
to  rouse  themselves  at  last  as  one  man,  and  to  carry  the 
Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  to  every  heathen  dwelling. 
In  this  great  work  let  every  Christian  cooperate,  with 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  279 

some  proper  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  undertaking, 
and  of  the  obligations  which  rest  upon  him.  At  the 
present  eventful  period,  no  man,  who  has  had  a fair 
opportunity  to  develop  Christian  principle,  and  to  learn 
the  weight  of  Christian  responsibility,  ought  to  look 
upon  himself  as  a follower  of  Christ,  unless  he  feels 
healing  in  his  bosom  something  of  the  spirit  which  ani- 
mated the  Johns  and  Pauls  of  primitive  times. 

4.  “Preaching  the  Gospel,’’  which  we  have  spoken 
of  as  man’s  great  duty  after  his  own  restoration  to  God, 
is  a form  of  expression  which  may  be  understood  in 
various  ways.  The  first  idea  attached  to  it,  as  we  find 
it  employed  in  the  New  Testament,  is  announcement 
abroad.  It  is  said  of  the  Saviour,  on  a certain  occasion, 
that  he  sent  his  disciples  to  preach  the  kingdom  of  God, 
“and  they  departed,  and  went  through  the  towns, 
preaching  the  Gospel  and  healing  everywhere?^  His  last 
command  was : — “Go,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations:'^ 
And  we  know  that  the  early  Christians,  after  having 
labored  a short  time  at  Jerusalem,  went  abroad,  as 
preachers  of  Christ’s  coming  and  kingdom,  into  various 
and  distant  parts  of  the  world. 

Preaching  the  Gospel  abroad,  however,  does  not 
exclude  the  idea  of  preaching  it  at  home.  The  labor 
of  those  who  are  united  with  God,  is  not  limited  to  the 
transmission  of  the  news  of  salvation  to  distant  lands. 
This,  undoubtedly,  is  a great  and  indispensable  work ; 
but  it  is  not  the  whole.  He  is  truly  a missionary  of 
God,  who  communicates  God’s  truth,  and"  discharges 
God’s  mission  of  benevolence,  whenever  and  wherever 
an  opportunity  is  presented.  Harlan  Page,  who  labored 
at  home,  was  as  truly  a preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  as 
truly  a missionary,  as  the  Brainerds  and  Martyns  and 
other  devoted  men,  who  have  preached  and  toiled  in  dis- 


280 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


tant  clime^i  and  among  savage  tribes.  Always  do  we 
have  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  suffering,  the  ignorant  with 
us.  Constantly  are  we  so  situated,  that  a just  and  kind 
word,  and  even  a kind  look,  will  have  its  effect  as  a 
messenger  of  the  spirit  and  truth  of  the  Gospel.  The 
ignorant  are  to  be  instructed,  the  suffering  to  be  relieved, 
the  impenitent  to  be  awakened,  the  wandering  to  be 
reclaimed,  the  weak  in  faith  and  hope  to  be  strengthened. 
There  is  a sense,  in  which  every  man,  whatever  his 
position  in  society,  either  is,  or  ought  to  be,  a preacher 
of  righteousness.  Nor  Avill  these  views  be  considered  as 
unreasonable,  or  as  destitute  of  foundation,  when  we 
remember  that  the  man  always  preaches  effectually,  and 
cannot  help  doing  So,  who  stands  in  the  position  which 
God’s  providence  has  assigned  him ; who  lives  the  life 
of  prayer  and  faith,  and  exhibits  in  speech  and  action 
that  meek  and  benevolent  spirit,  Avhich  the  Gospel  is 
calculated  to  inspire. 

5.  And  now  we  are  to  remember,  that  this  great 
work,  — namely,  the  bringing  home  the  Gospel  to  every 
human  soul, — is  God’s  work ; — his  heart  is  set  upon 
it.  For  this  he  has  raised  up  patriarchs  and  prophets 
of  other  days  ; — for  this  he  has  employed  the  ministra- 
tion of  angels  ; — for  this,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  he  has 
sent  his  beloved  Son.  It  is  his  purpose,  by  means  of 
the  Gospel,  which  was  completed  in  the  example  and 
death  of  Christ,  to  raise  up  a people  set  apart  for  himself; 
— a peculiar  people,  — a people  possessing  the  Chris- 
tian spirit,  and  zealous  of  good  works.  Unchangeable  in 
his  purpose,  unchangeable  in  his  plan  of  operation,  he 
can  unite  with  those  only,  who  are  ready  to  unite  with 
him.  The  man  who  is  not  disposed  to  do  all  that  the 
providence  of  God  allows  him  to  do,  in  aid  of  this  great 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  281 


work,  is  not  a co-worker  with  God,  and  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  him. 

6.  Preach,  therefore,  by  word.  Preach  also  by  action. 
Preach  the  Gospel  at  home,  and  preach  it  every- 
where. But  always  remember,  in  connection  with  a 
deep  sense  of  human  infirmity  and  liability  to  error, 
to  preach  it  under  the  guidance,  and  by  the  power,  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  message  is  from  God^  and  God 
only.  To  be  united  with  God  in  proclaiming  his  mes- 
sages, we  must  speak  as  God  gives  us  utterance.  It  is 
important,  in  this  age  of  the  world,  when  we  hope  the 
millennial  period  is  rapidly  approaching,  to  revive  and  to 
act  upon  the  great  primitive  truth,  that  holy  men  speak 
as  they  are  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost ; and  that,  so  far 
as  they  are  holy,  they  have  no  power  of  speaking  other- 
wise. 

So  far  as  we  are  in  union  with  God,  while  it  is  true 
that  we  ourselves  may  be  said  to  speak,  it  is  equally  true 
that  God  speaks  in  us.  There  is  but  one  true  voice. 
The  voice  which  speaks  at  the  centre,  if  it  embodies  the 
truth,  is  the  same  voice  which  speaks  at  the  circumfer- 
ence, and  which  speaks  everywhere  else.  It  is  incapa- 
ble of  change.  It  speaks  in  the  star,  the  flower,  the 
falling  leaf,  the  ocean’s  wave,  in  the  winds,  in  the  thun- 
der, in  the  sound  of  the  falling  water,  in  the  true  phi- 
losopher, in  the  true  poet,  in  the  true  preacher,  in  the 
Bible,  everywhere  the  same  in  import,  though  various 
and  differing  in  manifestation.  When,  therefore,  we  are 
in  God  by  a true  unity  of  spirit,  we  speak  as  God  would 
have  us  speak,  and  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty. 

7.  And  truly  holy  men,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  have 
known,  by  their  inward  experience,  the  truth  of  what 
has  now  been  said ; and  they  have  not  hesitated  to  pro- 
claim what  they  have  known.  What  was  the  language 

24^ 


282 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


of  the  ancient  prophets?  What  was  the  language  of 
Paul?  Everywhere  does  he  discard  the  idea  that  his 
teaching  is  from  himself.  Everywhere  does  he  discard 
all  confidence  in  human  wisdom.  Prophets  and  apos- 
tles, by  their  own  acknowledgment,  were  only  instru- 
ments, which  gave  form  and  locality  to  the  divine  utter- 
ance, Holy  men,  in  all  subsequent  ages,  have  felt  and 
spoken  in  the  same  way.  The  records  of  the  interior 
or  experimental  history  of  the  church  show  this  to  be 
the  case.  In  all  periods  of  great  religious  attention, 
and  in  all  cases  of  deep  religious  experience,  language 
is  used  by  those  who  are  the  subjects  of  such  experi- 
ence, which  corresponds  to  the  fact  of  the  divine  origina- 
tion of  all  that  is  true  and  right  in  the  soul.  The 
human  in  men  may  be  said  at  such  times  to  be  kept,  as 
it  is  sometimes  expressed,  in  abeyance ; or,  what  is  bet- 
ter, to  be  placed  under  a divine  and  holy  direction. 
While  they  are  conscious  of  personal  responsibility,  it  is 
still  true  that  they  utter  what  is  given . them.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice,  that  language,  which,  in  religion  as 
well  as  in  philosophy,  is  an  index  of  the  mind’s  opera- 
tions, often  takes  at  such  times  the  passive  instead  of  the 
active  form  ; — implying,  while  it  does  not  exclude  the 
idea  of  activity,  especially  of  cooperative  action,  that 
we  are  also  the  sulgects  of  action. 

8.  We  will  give  a single  instance,  among  a multi- 
tude of  others,  in  illustration  of  what  we  mean  in  this 
remark.  Among  the  devotedly  pious  men,  who  came  to 
this  country  from  England  about  two  hundred  years 
since,  was  Richard  Mather,  a preacher  of  the  Gospel. 
With  his  wife  and  children,  and  many  other  praying 
people,  he  sailed  from  Bristol,  in  England,  on  the  twen- 
ty-third of  May,  1635.  With  him  was  another  preacher 
by  the  name  of  Maud.  Mather  kept  a journal.  ‘‘  The 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  283 


twenty-fourth/’  he  says  in  his  journal,  being  the  Lord^s 
day,  the  wind  was  strong  in  the  morning,  and  the  ship 
danced,  and  many  of  our  Avomen  and  some  children 
were  not  well,  but  sea-sick,  and  mazy  or  light  in  their 
heads,  and  could  scarce  stand  or  go  without  falling, 
unless  they  took  hold  of  something  to  uphold  them. 
This  day  Mr.  Maud  was  exercised  in  the  forenoon,  and  I 
in  the  afternoon.’’  The  language  is  passive  ; — imply- 
ing that  while  they  preached  outward  to  others,  they 
themselves  were  preached  to  inwardly  by  the  Holy 
Ghost;  and  that  they  could  not  safely  give  the  word 
to  others,  unless  it  was  first  given  to  themselves.' 

This  form  of  language  is  used  throughout  the  book. 
In  reference  to  the  second  Sabbath  on  shipboard,  he 
says,  It  being  the  Lord’s  day,  there  could  be  no  going 
out  that  day.  I was  exercised  in  the  forenoon,  and  Mr. 
Maud  in  the  afternoon.”  And  so  everywhere,  when  he 
had  occasion  to  speak  of  his  preaching.  He  had  been 
inwardly  taught  in  such  a manner,  that  he  could  have 
no  idea  of  good  and  effectual  preaching,  except  so  far  as 
the  preacher  was  himself  first  inwardly  exercised;  that 
is  to  say,  taught  by  an  inward  and  divine  inspiration. 
And  I find  this  sentiment  everywhere  embodied  in  the 
language  and  the  history  of  other  holy  men,  who,  at  the 
same  period,  took  their  lives  in  their  hands,  and  settled 
in  the  wilderness.  Their  strength  was  not  in  them- 
selves. Their  lives,  their  works,  are  an  evidence.  What 
but  a God,  in-dwelling  in  the  soul,  and  exercising 
them^'^  as  they  expressed  it,  in  the  centre  of  their  being, 
could  have  inspired  the  adventurous  thoughts  in  the 
minds  of  those  praying  pilgrims,  and  have  given  strength 
to  their  mighty  purpose  7 

The  most  successful  and  favored  periods  in  the  his- 


284 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


tory  of  all  denominations  of  Christians,  will  illustrate 
and  confirm  these  views. 

9.  It  is  such  preaching,  we  doubt  not,  which  is  des- 
tined more  and  more  to  characterize  the  latter  days.  As 
men  are  gradually  brought  into  a closer  alliance  with 
God,  as  with  their  own  consent  they  yield  themselves 
to  be  watered  from  the  everlasting  fountain,  the  issues 
from  their  souls  will  be  life  to  others,  because  they  will 
have  life  in  themselves.  As  the  life  which  they  have 
in  themselves  is  life  from  God,  it  is  light  as  well  as 
life ; that  is  to  say,  it  is  enlightenment,  or  truth.  The 
true  life  always  expresses  the  truth.  The  truth  is 
written  upon  it,  just  as  a falsehood  is  written  upon  a 
false  life ; — and,  being  written  there,  it  is  read  and 
known  of  all  men.  The  man  who  has  the  true  life  in 
him,  harmonizes  with  providence,  with  God,  and  with 
all  true  and  good  things.  Not  only  his  words,  but  his 
actions,  are  truths.  Not  only  his  daily  talking  of  God 
and  of  divine  things  is  a sermon,  but  his  daily  walk- 
ing with  God  is  equally  a sermon.  He  is  a preacher  by 
divine  right;  teaching  like  one  having  authority,  and 
not  as  the  Scribes,” — not  going  before  he  is  sent,  but 
tarrying  at  Jerusalem,  like  the  primitive  disciples,  until 
he  is  endued  with  power  from  on  high,^^^ 


* Luke  24  : 49. 


CHAPTER  V. 


OF  ’JNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  OBSERVANCE  AND  THE  DUTIES 
OF  THE  SABBATH. 

Introductory  remarks.  — Objected  to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
tliat  all  days  are  equally  holy.  — Explanations  of  this  view  and 
answer  to  it.  — Of  the  rest  and  peace  of  the  Sabbath.  — Of  the 
spiritual  benefits  of  the  Sabbath.  — Union  with  God  implies  union 
with  him  in  the  support  of  this  day. 

Those  designs  of  mercy,  which  God  entertains  tow- 
ards our  fallen  race,  will  be  carried  on,  in  part  at  least, 
in  connection  with  the  Christian  Sabbath.  And  those, 
who  cooperate  and  are  united  with  God,  will  cheerfully 
recognize  the  day,  and  harmonize  in  its  great  purposes. 
It  is  not  our  object,  however,  to  enter  into  the  subject  of 
the  original  establishment  of  the  Sabbath,  ,nor  of  the 
change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day 
of  the  week ; nor  to  enter  into  the  examination  of  some 
other  topics,  which  are  ordinarily  connected  with  it. 
We  introduce  the  subject  here  for  the  purpose  of  consid- 
ering it  in  another  aspect. 

2.  It  is  something  worthy  of  notice,  amongst  the  re- 
markable things  of  the  present  time,  that  the  Christian 
Sabbath,  contrary  to  what  would  be  the  natural  expect- 
ation in  the  case,  is  attempted  to  be  set  aside  by  persons 
who  have  a respect  for  religion,  and  appear  to  be  persons 
of  true  benevolence  and  piety.  Some  of  them  make 


286 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


high  claims  to  holiness  of  heart.  The  holiness  of  theii 
hearts,  as  they  understand  it,  has  made  all  things  holy. 
Their  work  is  holy;  their  rest  is  holy;  their  recreations 
are  holy;  — everything  they  do,  while  the  heart  is  holy, 
partakes  of  the  character  of  the  source  or  motive  from 
which  it  proceeds.  No  one  day,  therefore,  can  be  more 
holy  to  them  than  another.  The  Sabbath  is  on  a foot- 
ing with  other  days.  All  days  are  alike. 

This  is  the  general  train  of  their  thought  and  reason 
mg.  And  it  cannot  be  doubted,  I think,  that  there  is 
not  only  a degree  of  plausibility,  but  a portion  of  real 
truth  in  these  views. 

3.  It  is  true,  in  a certain  sense  undoubtedly,  that  all 
days,  considered  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  holiness, 
are  alike.  It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose,  that,  while 
we  are  required  to  conform  to  holiness  on  one  day,  we 
are  at  liberty  to  deviate  from  it,  in  some  degree,  on 
another.  It  is  true,  therefore,  that  all  days  should  be 
kept  as  holy  as  the  Sabbath.  And  in  this  respect,  and 
so  far  as  this,  all  days  are  and  ought  to  be  alike. 

But  it  ought  to  be  particularly  remembered,  while  we 
admit  that  the  requisition  of  holiness  attaches  itself  to 
all  days  alike,  and  that  one  day  is  not  and  cannot  be 
more  holy  than  another ; that  they  are  alike  by  sameness 
of  dispositions^  and  not  by  similarity  of  outioard  acts. 
They  are  alike  to  us,  and  are  made  alike  in  God’s  view, 
not  by  doing  the  same  thing  every  day,  but  by  doing 
that  which  is  appropriate  to  the  day.  Time^  in  itself 
considered,  is  not  holiness,  nor  can  it  be  the  subject  of 
holiness.  It  is  not  possible  that  one  day,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, should  be  more  holy  than  another ; but  holiness 
consists  in  being  and  doing  in  time  just  that  thing  which 
is  appropriate  to  the  time.  The  law  of  God  requires  us 
to  do  everything  with  a holy  heart  every  day^  on  other 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  2S7 

days  of  the  week  as  well  as  on  the  Sabbath,  and  not 
more  on  the  Sabbath  than  on  other  days.  But  this  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  doing  or  allowing  the  same 
thing  to  be  done  every  day.  The  only  true  expression, 
therefore,  the  only  true  law,  is,  Do  that  which  is  appro- 
priate  to  the  time.  Any  known  and  deliberate  violation 
of  this  law  is  sin ; and  cannot  be  otherwise  than  sin. 

4.  We  are  to  do  on  the  Sabbath  day  that  which  is 
appropriate  to  it.  But  it  must  be  very  obvious  that  the 
appropriateness  of  our  acts  can  never  be  ascertained, 
independently  of  a regard  to  what  takes  place  around 
IIS.  The  recurrence  of  the  Sabbath,  in  consequence  of 
what  are  understood  to  be  the  laws  of  God  in  the  case, 
and  of  the  general  consent  of  all  Christian  nations,  has 
the  effect  to  stop  the  ordinary  operations  of  life,  and  to 
hush  the  world  to  comparative  peace;  — so  that  there  is 
a rest  from  physical  labor,  an  opportunity  to  recover 
from  undue  exhaustion,  and  a season  for  moral  and  re- 
ligious reflection  and  worship.  It  is  a season,  especially 
in  the  present  condition  of  the  human  race,  of  immense, 
of  incalculable  importance.  If,  therefore,  my  recreation 
or  my  labor  on  the  Sabbath  day  breaks  in  upon  the 
general  harmony,  and  disturbs  the  rest,  the  contempla- 
tions, and  the  worship  of  my  neighbor,  and  thus  does  a 
serious  injury  to  himself  and  his  family,  it  is  clearly 
inappropriate  to  the  day.  It  is  a violation  of  what  is  due 
from  man  to  man,  and  is  a sin. 

5.  Consider,  further,  if  the  Sabbath  or  Lord’s  day  is 
the  day  for  man  to  rest  in,  and  that,  in  the  cessation  from 
his  ordinary  labors,  he  may  receive  and  be  nourished  by 
the  truth,  it  is  the  day  also  for  God  to  work  in,  in  order 
that  the  truth  may  be  communicated.  God  has  a great 
message  for  his  rebellious  people ; the  message  of  life 
through  his  Son.  But  on  the  other  days  of  the  week. 


288 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


when  their  hands  and  their  hearts  are  occupied  with 
other  things,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a hearing.  It  is  on 
the  Sabbath  day,  especially  and  emphatically,  that  this 
great  message  is  communicated ; — a message  which 
involves  in  its  results,  not  only  the  salvation  of  the  soul, 
but  equal  rights  among  men,  the  emancipation  of  the 
enslaved,  the  cessation  of  war,  the  progress  of  humanity 
and  civilization,  and  universal  brotherhood.  All  other 
forms  of  legitimate  emancipation  are  necessarily  involved 
in  the  emancipation  of  the  soul  from  guilt  and  sin.  De- 
stroy the  Lord’s  day,  and  you  necessarily  close  the  com- 
munications of  God,  which  have  relation  to  these  great 
objects.  You  close  the  communications,  because  you 
take  away  the  necessary  opportunities  for  hearing  them. 
He,  therefore,  who  does  anything  on  the  Sabbath,  which 
tends  to  interrupt  the  communication  between  God  and 
men,  by  perplexing  the  operations  of  him  who  speaks, 
or  by  diverting  the  attention  of  those  who  listen,  does 
that  which  is  inappropriate  to  the  day. 

6.  The  Sabbath  is,  in  some  respects,  the  great,  the 
cheering  hope  of  the  human  race.  It  is  emphatically 
the  day  of  the  poor,  the  suffering,  the  enslaved,  the  pris- 
oner. Without  it,  the  poor  man  would  scarcely  have 
hope;  laboring,  as  he  would  then  be  obliged  to  do, 
without  cessation,  and  yet  without  additional  emolu- 
ment ; — the  slave,  who  experiences  rest,  and  receives 
instruction  on  this  day,  would  find  his  state  of  bondage 
more  trying  and  distressing  than  ever; — the  ignorant 
man,  who  greatly  needs  knowledge,  would  find  many 
important  avenues  of  knowledge  closed  to  him;  and  the 
evils  and  sufferings  which  afflict  our  race  would  be,  in 
various  ways,  greatly  increased. 

7.  We  may,  perhaps,  admit  that  the  Sabbath,  consid- 
ered in  its  relations  to  the  human  race,  was  made  for 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  289 


the  unholy  rather  than  for  the  holy.  That  is  to  say,  the 
holy  man,  who  has  a perpetual  Sabbath  in  his  soul, 
could,  perhaps,  do  without  it,  while  the  unholy  man 
could  not.  But  then  it  is  to  tie  remembered,  that  no  man 
can  properly  be  regarded  as  a truly  religious  or  holy  per- 
son, who  has  not  a disposition  to  cooperate  with  God. 
Our  great  business  is,  to  stand  in  union  with  him,  who 
here  and  everywhere  unfolds  our  destiny.  If,  therefore, 
it  is  the  design  of  God  to  benefit  men,  especially  the 
degraded  and  the  sinful,  through  the  medium  of  the 
Sabbath,  it  is  justly  expected  of  all  who  regard  God’s 
will  and  are  like  him,  that  they  will  observe  and  honor 
the  Sabbath  day.  They  cannot  be  united  with  him  m 
spirit,  without  being  united  with  him  in  the  observance 
of  this  important  institution ; sympathizing  in  its  objects, 
fulfilling  its  duties,  and  rejoicing  in  the  herpes  it  inspires. 

25 


CHAPTER  VI. 


OF  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  REDEMPTION  AND  SANCTIFICA- 
TION OF  THE  FAMILY. 

Definition  of  home.  — The  home  of  all  beings  ascertained  by  a law  of 
nature.  — Is  found  in  the  harmony  or  union  of  two  beings  in  one.  — 
Keference  to  the  law  of  adaptation  and  union  in  the  vegetable  world. 

— Keference  to  the  same  law  in  its  application  to  the  lower  animals. 

— Of  the  principle  of  union  in  moral  beings.  — The  subject  illus- 
trated from  the  nature  of  the  Godhead.  — View  given  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. — Kemarks  suggested  by  the  subject. 

We  proceed  now,  in  the  natural  order  of  these  inqui- 
ries, from  the  individual  to  the  family.  Holiness  does 
not  annul,  or  even  alter,  the  laws  of  nature,  but  only 
restores  and  perfects  their  action.  And,  accordingly,  we 
shall  be  united  with  our  heavenly  Father  in  the  great 
work  of  restoring  and  perfecting  the  family,  when  we 
endeavor  to  ascertain  and  to  aid  in  the  fulfilment  of  the 
intentions  of  nature. 

We  begin  our  remarks,  therefore,  by  saying,  that  every 
being  must  have  its  home.  By  home,  we  do  not  mean 
simply  a locality,  a place  of  residence.  The  man,  who 
s banished  from  his  native  land,  and  is  confined  to  some 
rocky  isle  in  the  ocean,  has  his  locality,  but  it  is  not  his 
home.  If  it  is  so,  why  does  he  so  often  cast  his  stream- 
ing eye  over  the  broad  ocean,  as  if  to  catch  the  glance 
of  some  other  land  ? Home,  therefore,  in  being  some- 


# 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  291 


thing  more  than  simple  locality,  is  that  locality  where 
the  affections  find  their  centre  and  are  at  rest. 

2.  And  we  may  add  further,  that  the  home  of  every 
class  of  beings,  excluding  all  idea  of  uncertainty  and 
vagrancy,  is  ascertained  and  fixed  by  a law  of  nature. 
It  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  origin,  or 
the  position,  or  the  physical  habits,  or  the  enjoyments,  of 
any  beings,  especially  in  their  regular  or  normal  state, 
are  accidental.  On  the  contrary,  all  beings  have  their 
sphere  or  circle  of  life ; — a sphere  definite,  wisely  ad- 
justed, and  perfect.  And  this  is  not  all.  Every  sphere, 
embracing  as  it  does  various  and  multiplied  capacities 
and  opportunities  of  action,  has  its  centre.  And  that 
centre,  in  being  constituted  by  a divine  arrangement,  and 
with  the  divine  approbation,  may  be  said  to  harmonize 
with  the  divine  and  infinite  centre.  And,  accordingly, 
harmonizing  as  it  does  both  with  God  and  with  the  facts 
and  incidents  of  its  own  sphere  of  life,  it  is  the  place, 
and  the  only  place,  where  the  highest  happiness  of  cre- 
ated beings  is  realized.  It  is  the  place,  therefore,  in 
distinction  from  all  others,  and  above  all  others,  which 
constitutes  their  home. 

3.  That  home  or  centre,  of  which  we  now  speak,  will 
always  be  found  to  be, — certainly  in  the  case  of  all 
moral  beings,  — the  harmony  or  union  of  two  in  one. 
The  permanent  coming  together,  the  ccusolidation^  if  we 
may  so  speak,  of  two  natures  existing  m the  same 
sphere  of  life,  constitutes  not  merely  the  place  of  meet- 
ing, but  the  place  of  affectional  rest  and  happiness.  The 
true  domicil  of  all  sentient  and  moral  beings,  therefoie, 
is  the  domicil,  the  home  of  the  heart,  whenever  and 
wherever  the  heart  is  at  rest.  And  that  place  of  rest  is 
ascertained  and  verified  by  that  union  of  two  in  one 
which  has  just  been  mentioned.  And,  accordingly,  it 


292 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


may  be  said  :f  all  moral  and  accountable  beings,  that 
they  are  at  home  and  are  happy  in  being  united,  first, 
with  the  divine  or  infinite  centre,  which  is  God;  and 
then,  in  being  perfectly  united,  under  the  divine  direc- 
tion, with  other  correspondent  or  mated  beings  in  the 
same  sphere  of  life;  — a union,  which  may  be  described 
as  the  local  or  finite  centre,  namely,  the  centre  in  rela- 
tion to  the  species  or  class  of  beings  to  which  they 
belong.  And  until  they  attain  this  central  position  in 
their  own  sphere  of  life,  a centre  which  corresponds  to 
and  harmonizes  with  the  divine  or  infinite  centre;  in 
other  words,  until  they  reach  this  home  of  the  hearf  s 
rest  in  love,  there  is  always  a desire  which  is  not  satis- 
fied, always  a yearning  of  the  spirit  which  is  not  met,  a 
deep  and  painful  want  of  completed  bliss. 

Such  is  the  truth  of  nature  in  this  matter.  Such  is 
the  truth  of  God,  who  in  the  book  of  nature  has  every- 
where written  truths  which  are  eternal.  And,  according- 
ly, the  family  institution,  which  has  so  close  a connec- 
tion with  the  interests  and  hopes  of  humanity,  has  an 
everlasting  basis. 

4.  Of  this  great  truth  we  have  some  shadowings 
forth,  some  feeble  disclosures,  in  the  lower  creation.  It 
would  hardly  be  out  of  place  to  say  that  we  have  an 
intimation  of  it  even  in  the  arrangements  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom.  The  botanist  is  unable  to  develop  his 
science  without  making  reference  to  distinctions,  combi- 
nations and  results,  which  remind  one  of  the  relations 
of  a higher  state  of  existence.  The  trees  and  the  flow- 
ers have  their  correspondences,  their  attractions.  A poet 
of  no  mean  name  has  sung  the  Loves  of  the  Plants.’^=^ 

5.  Still  more  striking  and  decisive  are  the  evidences  of 
the  natural  and  permanent  relationships  of  love,  which 


* Dr.  Darwin,, 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  293 


are  furnished  by  the  animal  kingdom.  In  how  many 
tribes  of  animals  the  instinct  of  love  seeks,  with  unerring 
perseverance,  its  corresponding  relationships ! And  when 
those,  which  are  fitted  and  are  destined  for  each  other, 
have  established  their  companionship,  how  delightful 
and  even  affecting  is  their  unity  in  labor,  in  suffering, 
and  in  joy ! Their  nest,  or  cavern,  or  excavation  in  the 
earth,  becomes  to  them  a home,  hallowed  by  the  ties  of 
a reciprocal  or  correspondent  nature,  sustained  by  un- 
changing fidelity,  and  undisturbed  by  foreign  intrusions. 

Never  does  the  bird  of  the  mountains  dwell  in  his  dis- 
tant and  wild  home  without  a companion.  Wherever 
he  goes,  he  cannot  separate  himself  from  the  instincts  of 
union.  Another  bird  of  the  mountains  sits  by  his  side 
on  the  dark  and  solitary  cliff,  which  human  eye  has, 
perhaps,  never  visited.  They  build  their  nest  by  a com- 
mon labor ; and  their  young,  born  from  the  attractions 
of  a two-fold  nature,  are  fed  by  a care  which  love  will 
not  permit  to  be  divided. 

6.  But  this  principle  of  reciprocal  adaptation,  and  of 
union  founded  upon  it,  is  more  fully  developed  and  per- 
fected in  moral  beings. 

I take  it  for  granted  as  a first  and  indisputable  princi- 
ple, that  happiness  must  be  the  result  of  a divinely 
ordered  and  perfect  constitution  of  things.  It  is  true,  as 
we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  say,  thi  t love  is,  and 
must  be,  the  life ; that  is  to  say,  the  central  and  mov- 
ing principle  of  such  a divine  constitution.  But  love  is 
not  necessarily  free  from  sorrow;  — although  it  must  be 
admitted,  that  true  happiness  cannot  exist  without  love. 
The  love,  which  good  men  have  to  erring  and  fallen  sin- 
ners, is  necessarily  more  or  less  mixed  with  grief  This 
being  the  case,  the  question  naturally  arises,  — VVhen 
can  a truly  holy  or  love  being  be  said  to  be  a happy 
25* 


294 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 

being;  — not  only  happy,  but  enjoying  happiness  in  the 
highest  degree?  This  is  a question,  which  it  is  obvious- 
ly necessary  to  solve,  in  ascertaining  the  true  constitution 
of  an  order  of  moral  beings.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  answer  the  question,  — Under  what  circum- 
stances can  the  highest  happiness  be  secured  to  such  an 
order  of  beings?  And  the  answer,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is 
this.  A moral  being  is  happy  in  the  highest  degree,  when 
it  meets  with  another  being,  constituted  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples of  holy  love;  and  meets  with  it  under  such  cir- 
cumstances as  to  behold  the  unspeakable  beauty  of  its 
own  benevolent  nature  reflected  back  upon  itself  in  the 
mirror  of  the  other’s  loving  heart.  Seeing  itself  in 
another,  and  therefore,  feeling  another  in  itself,  it  not 
only  recognizes  but  realizes,  by  the  necessities  of  its 
nature,  the  eternal  law  of  unity. 

A love  being,  that  is  to  say,  a being,  whose  central 
principle  of  movement  is  holy  love,  cannot  see  its  own 
love,  because  it  is  the  nature  of  holy  love  to  turn  its 
eyes  from  itself,  and  to  see  the  wants,  and  to  seek  the 
good,  of  another.  But  being  unable  to  see  itself  in  itself, 
Avhen  it  sees  and  recognizes  itself  imaged  forth  in  the 
bright  heart  and  countenance  of  another,  it  seeks  the 
company  of  such  a being  by  a natural  impulse,  and  re- 
joices in  it  with  joy  unspeakable.”  In  other  words,  the 
issues  of  perfect  happiness  are  from  the  meetings  and 
unions  of  true  or  pure  love.  It  is  not  merely  soul  meet- 
ing soul ; but  the  divine  rushing  into  the  arms  of  the 
divine.  Stated  in  still  other  terms,  the  happiness  of  love 
consists,  more  than  in  anything  else,  in  seeing  the  face  of 
love.  This  is  the  philosophy,  not  more  of  the  true  joy  of 
earth,  than  it  is  of  the  true  joy  of  heaven. 

7.  If  these  views  are  correct,  they  are  applicable  to  all 
moral  beings.  They  are  applicable  to  man ; — and  with 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  295 


appropriate  modifications  which  do  not  vitiate  the  princi- 
ple at  the  bottom  of  them,  they  are  applicable  to  angels, 
and  to  all  other  classes  and  orders  of  moral  existences. 
There  seems,  then,  to  be  a just  and  adequate  foundation 
for  the  doctrine,  of  which  we  find  some  intimations  and 
glimpses  from  time  to  time  in  experimental  writers,  that 
all  holy  beings  have  their  correspondences.  That  is  to 
say,  they  have  other  beings  in  the  same  rank  of  existence, 
who,  in  their  physical,  though  purified  and  perfected, 
nature,  in  intellect  and  affections,  and  also  in  provi- 
dential position,  correspond  to  their  own  necessities,  and 
which  constitute,  therefore,  the  completion  or  comple- 
ment of  their  physical  part,  and  of  their  perceptions  and 
loves.  In  these  different  personalities,  which  are  des- 
tined in  their  appropriate  time  to  form  a completed  unity ^ 
there  is  the  same  central  principle  of  movement  or  action, 
namely,  holy  love.  Under  the  inspiration  of  this  central 
power,  they  continually  move  from  obiect  to  object, 
among  the  various  objects  and  beings  which  are  present- 
ed to  them  in  their  appropriate  sphere  of  life ; dispensing 
love  to  others,  and  receiving  love  in  return;  but^  still 
feeling  that  the  wants  of  their  inward  being  are  not  fully 
satisfied  until  their  equal  and  mated  spirit,  the  corre- 
spondence and  complement  of  themselves,  is  revealed  to 
them.  Then,  under  the  attractions  of  mutual  love, 
which  is  wiser  and  stronger  than  mere  arbitrary  and 
positive  law,  they  unite  together; — and  they  do  it  under 
such  circumstances  that  it  is  not  possible  to  separate 
them.  They  thus  fulfil  the  pin  poses  of  their  Maker; 
and  realize  in  time  a marriage,  which,  in  spirit  and 
essence,  is  eternal.  Made  and  mated  to  each  other,  their 
thoughts  flow  in  the  same  channel ; the  pulsation  of  one 
heart  is  the  pulsation  of  the  other ; in  the  fulfilment  of 
the  divine  will  they  become  acquainted  with  and  enjoy 


296 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


the  various  works  of  God  within  the  limits  of  their 
sphere  of  being ; they  have  a common  purpose,  a com- 
moi  happiness,  a common  life. 

8.  The  Godhead  itself,  mysterious  and  unsearchable 
as  i;  is,  is  the  fore-shadowing,  the  antetype  of  the  fami- 
ly. Man  is  said  to  be  created  in  the  divine  image  ; but 
the  combined  man,  which  constitutes  the  family,  far 
more  than  the  solitary  man  or  woman,  is  the  true  image 
of  God.  And  the  reason  is,  God  is  loveP  And  if  he  is 
so,  then  there  must  have  been  an  eternal  Beloved,  Other- 
wise, he  would  have  been  the  most  miserable  of  beings. 
Absolute  solitude  is  inconsistent  with  happiness.  What 
could  be  more  miserable  than  a being,  the  very  essence 
of  whose  nature  is  love,  without  an  object  to  meet  and 
to  satisfy  its  unalienable  and  mightv  tendencies  7 And 
that  object,  to  meet  the  ends  for  which  it  exists,  must  be 
as  infinite  as  the  love  of  which  it  is  the  subject.  And 
if  it  must  be  infinite,  because  nothing  short  of  infinite 
would  be  an  appropriate  object  of  the  divine  affections, 
it  must  also  have  been  eternal,  because  otherwise  the 
divine  affection,  through  countless  ages,  would  have  had 
no  object  at  all.  And  hence,  there  is,  and  must  be, 
innate  in  the  Godhead,  the  infinitely  beloved,  the  Chosen 
and  Anointed  of  the  Father,  the  Eternal  Word,  the  Im- 
manuel. But  this  duality  of  existence,  which  is  consti- 
tuted into  unity  by  the  unchangeable  bond  of  the  affec- 
tions, cannot  be  perfectly  happy  except  in  some  object, 
possessing  a like  infinity  of  character,  which  may  be 
regarded,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  as  “ a pro- 
cession or  emanation  ’’  from  the  two.  And  this  re-pro- 
duction of  itself,  infinite  in  its  nature,  perfect  in  its  love, 
and  by  “ an  everlasting  generation,’’  constitutes  and  com- 
pletesthe  adorable  family  of  the  Trinity. 

9.  Man,  created  in  the  divine  image,  is  male  and 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  29? 


female ; aiK.  these  two  are  one.  And  their  united  exist- 
ence, deriving  a new  power  from  their  union,  multiplies 
and  images  itself  in  a third,  which  is  also  a part  of 
itself.  It  is  man,  therefore,  in  his  threefold  nature,  — the 
father,  the  mother,  and  the  child, — the  beautiful  trinity  of 
the  family,  and  yet  so  constituted  that  in  man’s  unfallen 
state  it  would  never  have  suggested  the  idea  of  a weak- 
ened or  discordant  unity, — which  may  be  regarded  as  the 
earthly  representation,  the  visible,  though  dim,  shadow- 
ing forth  of  the  divine  personalities  existing  in  the  unity 
of  the  Godhead.  The  original  type  is  in  the  infinite; 
but  it  is  reproduced  and  reflected  with  greater  or  less 
degrees  of  distinctness  in  all  orders  of  moral  beings. 

10.  If  any,  however,  should  suppose  that  these  sug- 
gestions are  not  sufficiently  based  on  facts  and  arguments, 
we  do  not  wish  to  press  them  unduly  upon  their  accept- 
ance. Perhaps  they  have  more  weight  with  us,  than 
they  have  with  others  ; — and  we  ask  no  other  reception 
for  them  than  that  to  which  they  are  justly  entitled.  At 
the  same  time  we  cannot  deny  our  own  conviction, 
founded  upon  such  considerations  as  we  have  been  able 
to  give  to  the  subject,  that  the  family  relation,  as  it  is 
recognized  and  established  in  the  New  Testament,  has 
its  foundation  in  the  nature  of  things,  and  is  eternal. 
This,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  a very  different  doctrine 
from  that  which  makes  it  a mere  positive  institution, 
founded  upon  arbitrary  command.  It  will  be  conceded, 
I suppose,  that  God  never  mends  his  own  work.  His 
conceptions,  founded  upon,  or  rather  involving,  the  fact 
of  a knowledge  and  comparison  of  all  possibilities  of 
being  and  action,  are  always  perfect.  And,  conse- 
quently, when  we  ascertain  what  his  views  and  plans 
of  things  are,  we  ascertain  that  which  is  unchangeable. 

The  idea  of  tie  family,  namely,  of  duality  in  unity, 


298 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


reproducing  itself  in  a third,  which  combines  the  image 
of  both,  IS  entitled,  if  we  are  correct  in  what  has  been 
said,  to  be  regarded  as  a plan  or  arrangement  of  things 
which  God  has  adopted  as  the  best  possible  to  be  carried 
out  and  realized.  And  if  so,  it  bears  the  stamp  of  divine 
perpetuity,  as  well  as  of  divine  wisdom. 

11.  It  may  be  well  to  repeat  and  to  keep  in  mind  some 
of  the  leading  principles,  on  which  this  conclusion  is 
based. 

One  is,  that  every  being  has  its  two-fold  centre ; first, 
its  centre  or  home  in  God ; second,  its  centre  or  home 
relative  to  its  sphere  of  life ; — the  one  corresponding 
to  and  harmonizing  with  the  other.  Another  principle 
is,  that  the  life  of  holy  or  unfallen  beings  is,  and  must 
be,  holy  love.  It  is  this  principle,  which  brings  their 
powers  into  movement,  and  constitutes  them  active 
beings.  A third  principle  is,  that  love,  in  whatever 
beings  it  may  exist,  must  have  an  object.  Being  a prin- 
ciple which  does  not  turn  back  and  rest  upon  itself,  but 
which  always  has  a tendency  to  move  outward,  it  can- 
not exist  without  having  an  object  somewhere.  A 
fourth  is,  that  love,  by  its  very  nature,  has  an  attractive 
as  well  as  an  emanative  power.  That  is  to  say,  while 
it  goes  out  to  others,  it  attracts  others  to  itself.  A fifth 
is,  that  the  highest  happiness  of  holy  beings,  drawn 
towards  each  other  as  they  are  by  the  attractions  of 
love,  will  be  secured,  and  can  only  be  secured,  when 
they  find  objects  perfectly  correspondent  to  themselves. 
And  it  is  only  when  they  have  experienced  this  com- 
pleted happiness,  that  Vhey  have  found  the  true  centre 
of  their  created  sphere  of  life,  and  are  at  home. 

And,  accordingly,  it  will  be  found,  as  the  laws  of 
intelligence  and  feeling  obviously  require  this  state  of 
things,  that  to  every  spiritual  existence  in  the  universe, 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  CF  REDEMPTION.  29^ 

though  differently  constituted  and  sustained  in  the:r  dif- 
ferert  spheres  of  life,  there  is,  and  must  be,  a corre- 
spondent spirit.  The  union  of  these  two  constitutes  the 
highest  happiness ; a happiness  which  is  never  experi- 
enced in  this  degree,  antecedent  to  such  union.  And 
this  union,  which  thus  results  in  the  highest  happiness, 
is  indissoluble.  The  moment  that  such  beings  are 
unveiled  to  each  other  as  perfect  correspondences,  the 
mutual  attraction,  at  once  strengthened  to  its  highest 
intensity,  becomes  irresistible;  and  the  bond  which  binds 
them,  stronger  and  more  beautiful  than  clasps  of  gold, 
can  never  be  rent  asunder. 

In  support  of  these  views  we  might  refer  to  other 
sources  of  argument,  which  are  frequently  adduced  in 
discussions  of  this  nature.  An  argument  in  support  of 
the  permanency  of  the  family,  as  it  is  constituted  among 
Christian  nations,  is  frequently  drawn  from  the  fact,  that 
the  sexes  are  equal,  or  nearly  equal,  in  number.  The 
subject  has  been  frequently  argued,  also,  in  connection 
with  the  instinctive  tendencies  of  our  nature,  both  men- 
tal and  physical,  which  so  universally  impel  men  to 
domestic  associations.  Such  considerations  go  to  con- 
firm the  views  which  have  been  taken ; but  they  are  so 
generally  known,  and  so  often  referred  to,  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  dwell  upon  them  here. 

12.  But,  looking  now  in  another  direction,  the  Scrip- 
tures, if  we  rightly  understand  them,  furnish  confiima- 
tion  of  the  general  principles  which  have  been  laid 
down.  The  Bible,  in  the  primitive  records  on  the  subject, 
represents  that  man  was  created  in  God’s  image.  It 
also  represents,  that  man  and  woman  were  one;  and 
that  woman  was  made  from  man ; — the  two  existing 
henceforth  in  a diversity,  but  correspondence  of  form, 
and  with  an  unity  of  life.  If  the  passages  to  which  we 


300 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


refer,  do  not  expressly  state  it,  it  is  obvious  that  they 
naturally  imply  and  involve  the  doctrine  of  correspond- 
ent or  mated  spirits,  of  duality  in  unity,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  affections  to  others  which  are  inconsistent 
with  such  unity.  There  is  a passage  in  the  prophet 
Malachi,  in  reproof  of  the  conduct  of  the  Israelites,  which 
throws  some  light  upon  this  subject.  The  Israelites  had 
become  dissolute  in  principles  and  manners;  — a state 
things,  which  showed  itself  in  violations  of  conjugal 
ddelity,  and  in  frequent  divorces.  “ The  Lord,’^  says 
the  prophet,  “hath  been  witness  between  thee  and  the 
wife  of  thy  youth,  against  whom  thou  hast  dealt  treach- 
erously; yet  she  is  thy  companion,  and  the  wife  of  thy 
covenant.  And  did  he  not  make  one  ? Yet  had  he  the 
residue  of  the  Spirit.  And  wherefore  one  ? [That  is  to 
say,  wherefore  did  he  create  one  only  ? And  the  answer 
is,]  that  he  might  seek,  [that  is,  prepare  or  secure  to 
himself,]  a godly  seed.  Therefore,  [he  adds,]  take  heed 
to  your  spirit,  and  let  none  deal  treacherously  against 
the  wife  of  his  youth.’’ 

The  passage  is  a decided  and  just  reproof  of  those 
frequent  violations  of  the  true  idea  of  the  marriage 
state,  which  had  crept  in  among  the  Israelites.  God 
was  offended ; and  the  prophet  gives  the  reason  of  it. 
When  God,  in  the  beginning  of  things,  had  created 
man,  he  separated  from  him,  in  the  moment  of  his 
“ deep  sleep,”  a part  of  his  existence.  And  from  that 
which  he  thus  separated,  he  made  the  counterpart  and 
completion  of  humanity  in  woman.  He  made  one.  In 
the  language  of  the  prophet,  he  had  “the  residue  of  the 
spirit;”  and  therefore  he  might^have  made  a greater 
number.  But  that  perfect  conception  which  he  had  of 
a moral  constitution  of  things,  and  of  the  elements  of 
moral  happiness,  did  not  allow  of  more  than  one. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  301 


It  was  necessary,  being  good  and  perfect  ir  himself, 
that  he  should  so  create  man,  as  to  evolve  or  develop 
from  his  existence,  so  long  as  it  continued  an  unper- 
verted existence,  the  highest  possible  degree  of  happi- 
ness. But  perfect  happiness  cannot  grow  on  the  basis 
of  a divided  affection.  It  is  only  fulness  of  love,  or 
love  in  the  highest  degree,  — a state  of  mind  which 
seems  to  be  inconsistent  with  a multitude  of  objects  of 
love,  — that  is  crowned  with  fulness  of  bliss.  And 
besides,  that  form  or  arrangement  of  the  domestic  con- 
stitution, which  limits  the  central  or  highest  affection  to 
one,  was  foreseen  to  be  most  favorable,  as  we  should 
naturally  suppose  it  would  be,  and  as  the  passage  in 
Malachi  implies,  to  the  birth  and  training  of  a “godly 
seed.’’  Polygamy  and  concubinage,  and  still  more 
other  systems,  which  propose  a yet  wider  and  more 
vicious  liberty,  are  obviously  inconsistent  with  that 
degree  of  watchful  care,  and  religious  instruction,  which 
is  necessary  in  training  up  a seed  or  people  for  God. 
And  I think  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  perpetuation 
of  a godly  seed  is  one  of  the  objects  involved  in  the  con- 
stitution of  a moral  order  of  beings.  Holiness,  like  sin, 
has  its  law  of  origin,  and  its  line  of  descent. 

13.  At  a later  period,  the  language  of  the  Saviour  is 
this  : “ The  Pharisees  also  came  unto  him,  tempting 

him,  and  saying  unto  him.  Is  it  lawful  for  a man  to  put 
away  his  wife  for  every  cause  ? And  he  answered  and 
said  unto  them.  Have  ye  not  read,  that  he  which  made 
them  at  the  beginning,  made  them  male  and  female,  and 
said.  For  this  cause  shall  a man  leave  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife;  ana  they  twain 
shall  be  one  flesh  7 Wherefore  they  are  no  more  twain, 
but  one  flesh.  What,  therefore,  God  hath  joined  together^ 
let  not  man  jmt  asunder. 

2G 


302  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

They  said  unto  him,  Why  did  Moses  then  command 
to  give  a writing  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her  away? 
He  saith  unto  them,  Moses,  because  of  the  hardness  of 
your  hearts,  suffered  you  tc  put  away  your  wives ; hut 
from  the  beginning  it  was  not 

14.  The  form  of  the  original  institution,  established  in 

infinite  wisdom,  was  not  only  that  of  correspondent 
spirits,  of  soul  formed  and  mated  to  soul,  but  that  of 
permanent  as  well  as  perfect  union.  Those  facts  of  men- 
tal and  providential  correspondence,  which  led  to  the 
union  in  the  first  instance,  necessarily  involved  and 
established  its  permanency.  Various  expressions  in  the 
New  Testament  conform  to  and  strengthen  these  views. 
Everywhere  are  denunciations  uttered  against  the  viola- 
tion of  this  bond  of  the  heart.  Everywhere  are  encour- 
agements uttered  to  the  preservation  of  its  purity,  and 
the  increase  of  its  strength.  Husbands,’’  says  the 
apostle  Paul,  “ love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved 
the  churchy  and  gave  himself  for  These  are  re- 

markable expressions.  Christ’s  love  is  perfect.  Christ’s 
love  never  changes.  The  expressions  of  the  apostle, 
therefore,  harmonize  well  with  the  declaration  of  the 
Saviour,  that  in  the  beginning,  the  husband  and  wife 
were  not  allowed  to  be  separated ; that  the  union,  when 
made  in  the  truth,  and  as  it  ought  to  be,  is  of  God,  and 
that  no  human  power  has  authority  to  rend  it  asunder. 

15.  Without  quoting  any  further  from  the  Scriptures, 
we  will  only  notice  the  fact,  that  God  very  frequently 
illustrates  the  strength  of  the  love  which  is  due  to  him, 
by  references  to  conjugal  love.  He  speaks  of  his  people 
as  espoused  to  him.  He  repeatedly  calls  himself  their 
husband.  Speaking,  for  instance,  of  the  rebellious  Isra- 


* Mat.  19  : 3. 


t Ephes.  5 : 25. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  303 

elites,  he  says,  in  a certain  place,  they  brake  my 
covenant,  although  I was  an  husband  unto  them.’’* 
And  he  compares  their  unholy  wahderings  from  him  to 
the  conduct  and  the  crime  of  a wife,  who  violates  the 
marriage  obligation.  Such  illustrations  and  references, 
if  they  do  nothing  more,  may  properly  be  regarded  as 
showing  the  estimation  which  our  heavenly  Father 
places  upon  conjugal  love.  If  they  do  not  directly 
assert  as  much,  they  certainly  seem  to  imply,  that  in  a 
truly  holy  and  perfect  state  of  things,  husbands  and 
wives  would  love  each  other  with  something  of  that 
sacredness  and  purity  of  affection  with  which  God  him- 
self is  loved. 

In  other  cases,  he  illustrates  the  relation  he  sustains  to 
his  creatures,  by  referring  to  the  constitution  of  the 
family  as  it  is  presented  to  our  notice  in  other. respects. 

son,”  he  says,  in  a certain  place,  ^^honoreth  his 
father,  and  a servant  his  master.  If  I then  be  a father^ 
where  is  mine  honor?”  And  again  it  is  said  in  another 
place,  ‘‘As  a father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  him.”  And  it  is  thus,  in  a multi- 
tude of  instances,  that  the  family  illustrates  the  relations 
of  God  to  man,  and  of  man  to  God.  And  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  references  and  illustrations  of  this  kind 
should  be  so  frequent.  The  family  embodies  the  highest 
forms  of  truth,  as  well  as  of  beauty. 

It  is  there  that  we  see  justice,  which,  standing  alone, 
would  smite  and  destroy,  tempered  with  mercy.  It  is 
there  that  we  see  filial  love  sustained  and  heightened 
by  reverence.  It  is  there,  especially,  that  we  find  illus- 
trations of  the  higher  truths  of  religious  experience. 
Where  else  do  we  find  so  fully  exemplified  the  lesson  of 
the  nature  and  laws  of  pure  love,  as  we  find  it  in  the 


* Xerem.  31 : 32. 


304 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


family  ? The  love  which  exists  in  the  family,  — the  love 
which  flows  between  those  who,  in  different  persons, 
constitute  the  unity  of  its  head, — the  love  which  flows 
from  the  parents  to  the  children,  and  reciprocally  from 
the  children  to  the  parents, — is  so  far  divested  of  selfish- 
ness, even  in  the  present  injured  and  fallen  state  of 
things,  as  to  give  some  idea,  faint  though  it  may  be,  of 
the  pure  love  of  a better  world.  And,  in  the  true  or  holy 
family,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  family  where  hearts  are 
first  filled  with  the  love  of  God  and  then  of  each  other, 
we  may  be  said  to  have  the  realization  of  heaven,  as 
well  as  the  idea  of  it. 

16.  In  connection  with  the  general  views  which  have 

been  presented,  a number  of  remarks  remain  to  be  made. 
And  one  is  this : One  of  the  results  of  the  diffusion  of 

holiness,  and  of  the  spirit  of  union  with  God,  will  be  to 
recognize  to  every  man  and  woman  the  right,  not  merely 
to  a home,  but  to  that  best  of  all  homes,  the  home  of 
the  heart.  Much  has  been  said,  among  social  and  politi- 
cal philanthropists,  of  the  right  of  each  man  to  a portion 
of  land,  a homestead;  and,  undoubtedly,  there  is  a 
great  religious,  as  well  as  social  idea,  at  the  bottom  of 
this  suggestion.  But  if  man  has  a right  to  a home  for 
his  body,  much  more  has  he  a right  to  a home  for  his 
soul.  His  soul’s  home  is  love.  To  love  and  to  be  loved, 
and  in  such  a manner  as  to  secure  the  highest  happi- 
ness, is  the  sacred  right  of  all  moral  beings ; and  the 
obstructions  which  exist  in  the  present  state  of  society 
to  this  desirable  result,  will  gradually  be  removed.  Such 
is  obviously  the  design  of  Providence;  and  those  who 
are  united  with  God  will  aid  in  it. 

17.  Another  remark  is  this.  The  union  of  souls  in 
the  marriage  state,  like  everything  else,  ought  to  be  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  first  work,  both 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  305 

of  man  and  of  woman,  is  the  recovery  of  their  own 
souls,  their  spiritual  sanctification.  Until  this  is  done, 
they  are  not  fitted,  — certainly  not  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  terms, — for  anything  else.  And  especially  do  they 
fail  of  being  fitted  for  true  mental  union. 

In  the  present  state  of  the  world,  and  in  the  imper- 
fect condition  of  human  things,  it  will  often  be  the  case, 
that  those  who  are  brought  into  the  marriage  state  by 
human  arrangements,  and  under  the  forms  of  human 
law,  have  not  been  united  by  spiritual  attraction.  Such 
marriages  cannot  be  happy ; — certainly  not  in  the 
highest  degree.  It  will  be  very  different,  in  proportion 
as  holiness  advances  in  the  world.  In  a purified,  or 
millennial  state  of  the  race,  the  first  step  towards  the 
finite  marriage  will  be  the  marriage  union  with  the 
Infinite.  This,  as  we  have  already  intimated,  is  the 
first  great  work  of  man  under  all  circumstances  ; a work 
which  cannot  be  superseded  by  any  other;  and  without 
which  no  other  can  be  perfectly  done.  When  the  soul 
IS  once  united  with  God,  it  becomes  the  si'bject  of  the 
divine  guidance ; and  while  it  loves  all,  and  seeks  the 
good  of  all,  it  enters  into  the  state  of  perfect  union  only 
with  that  soul  which  develops  most  perfectly  corre- 
sponding traits  of  character.  The  instinct  of  holiness 
will  lead  together  kindred  hearts;  and  the  truth  of 
spiritual  union  will  take  the  place  of  the  falsehood  and 
misery  of  that  union  which  merely  allies  the  body 
without  the  union  of  the  mind. 

18.  A further  remark,  closely  connected  with  what 
has  just  been  said,  is  this.  If  the  views  which  have 
been  presented  are  correct,  one  of  the  results  of  God's 
great  work  which  is  now  going  on  in  the  world,  will  be, 
to  raise  and  perfect  woman’s  position  and  character. 
The  darkest  page  in  human  history  is  that  of  the  treat- 
26^- 


306 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


merit  of  woman.  Oppressed  by  man’s  depravity,  injured 
in  her  most  sacred  aflections,  — the  slave  of  man  instead 
of  his  companion,-- she  has  bedewed  the  earth  with  tears, 
and  has  had  consolation  only  in  that  faith  in  God,  which 
is  appropriate  to  her  confiding  nature.  But  when,  in 
the  progress  of  divine  truth,  it  is  understood  that  man 
cannot  fulfil  his  own  destiny,  and  is  not  the  completion 
of  himself  without  her,  — in  other  words,  when,  by 
being  restored  to  God,  he  is  restored  to  himself,  — he 
will  also  be  restored  to  that  which  is  a part  of  himself; 
and  will  thus  perfect,  in  completed  unity,  what  would 
otherwise  necessarily  remain  in  the  imperfection  of  an 
undeveloped  and  partial  nature. 

And,  in  connection  with  the  accomplishment  of  this 
desirable  end,  nothing  is  to  be  considered  as  unimportant 
which  in  any  way  tends  to  secure  it.  And  this  leads  to 
the  remark,  that  female  education,  considered  in  its 
religious  aspects,  is  one  of  the  great  works  of  God, 
which  will  more  and  more  characterize  the  coming  ages. 
A general  conviction  on  this  subject  is  beginning  to  be 
felt ; but  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  way  in  which 
this  conviction,  and  the  hopes  involved  in  it,  are  to  be 
realized,  is  not  well  understood.  And,  accordingly, 
educational  efforts  for  the  improvement  of  the  intellect 
are  out  of  proportion  to  those  which  are  designed  for  the 
improvement  of  the  heart.  What  we  need  now,  and 
what  the  designs  of  God  upon  our  race  require  us  to 
have,  are  seminaries,  in  which  all  necessary  sciences  and 
literatures  shall  be  attended  to,  but  in  which  it  shall  be 
understood  and  taught,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  first 
and  indispensable  knowledge  is  that  of  repentance  and 
sah'ation  through  Christ,  and  of  sanctification  by  the 
constant  indwelling  and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
fn  other  words,  we  need  seminaries  in  which  the  educa- 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  307 


tion  of  the  female  heart  in  holiness  shall  take  the  prece- 
dence of  all  other  forms  of  education. 

19.  A fourth  remark,  in  connection  with  the  views 
which  have  been  presented,  is  this.  In  the  progress  of 
religion  in  the  world,  it  may  reasonably  be  expected  that 
the  power  of  God  will  be  especially  manifested  in  fami- 
lies. Each  household,  linked  together  by  peculiar  and 
strong  ties,  will  constitute  practically  a church  of  God. 
The  holy  man,  at  the  head  of  his  family,  stands  forth  in 
a special  sense  the  representative  of  his  heavenly  Father. 
Such  is  the  peculiar  nature  and  the  importance  of  his 
position,  that  he  speaks,  if  he  is  a man  of  true  religion, 
with  an  authority  which  belongs  to  no  other.  He  is  a 
priest^  — not,  indeed,  by  the  forms  of  earthly  ordina- 
tion, — hut  Still  a priest,  like  Christ  himself,  by  the  inspi- 
ration of  God,  and  after  the  order  of  Melchisedek.” 
It  is  from  him  and  through  him,  if  he  sets  a good 
example,  and  fulfils  his  office  of  teacher  or  priest  of  his 
household,  that  the  child  obtains,  more  distinctly  than  in 
any  other  way,  his  first  ideas  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 
And  then  add  to  the  example  and  influence  of  the 
father,  that  of  the  mother,  (for  the  father  is  not  the  com- 
pleted or  perfect  man  without  the  mother,)  — an  influence 
so  gentle,  so  constant,  so  effective,  — and  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  the  family  constitu- 
tion, considered  in  its  relation  to  human  virtue  and  hap- 
piness. 

I am  reminded,  in  these  remarks,  of  a passage  in  the 
beautiful  poem  of  the  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night : — 


“ Then,  kneeling  down  to  heaven’s  eternal  King, 
The  saint,  the  father,  and  the  husband  prays  ; 
Hope  springs  exulting  on  triumphant  wing, 

That  thus  they  all  shall  meet  in  future  days  : — 
There  ever  bask  in  uncreated  rays, 


308 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


No  more  to  sigh,  or  shed  the  bitter  tear, 

There  ever  hymning  their  Creator’s  praise. 

In  such  society,  yet  still  more  dear. 

While  circling  time  moves  round  in  an  eternal  sphere.” 

Within  a few  days,  and  since  commencing  the  writing 
of  these  remarks,  an  incident  has  come  to  my  knowledge, 
which  illustrates  the  subject.  A young  man  not  far 
distant,  having  arrived  at  an  age  when  it  seemed  to  be 
proper  for  him  to  do  so,  left  bis  father’s  house  to  engage 
in  some  business  in  another  place.  He  was  soon  exposed 
to  unforeseen  temptations,  and  fell  into  great  sin.  He 
not  only  sinned,  but  became  hardened  and  desperate  in 
sin.  His  friends  followed  him,  reasoned  with  him,  en- 
treated him,  but  all  in  vain.  The  victory  of  the  great 
adversary,  who  had  entangled  him  in  his  toils,  seemed 
to  be  complete.  They  then  made  one  request ; — that, 
fixed  and  desperate  as  he  was  in  his  vicious  course,  he 
would  so  far  yield  to  the  common  claims  of  humanity  as 
to  visit  once  more  his  father’s  house,  and  permit  his  aged 
parents  to  look  upon  him  before  they  died.  It  was  with 
great  reluctance  that  he  consented.  As  he  came  back, 
the  home  of  his  youth  rose  before  him.  The  fields, 
where  he  had  wandered  in  the  delightful  days  of  child- 
hood, expandedin  his  sight; — beautiful  in  themselves, 
but,  alas,  how  changed  to  him,  who  had  lost  the  mirror 
of  beauty  in  his  own  darkened  heart!  All  received  him 
with  those  unaffected  tokens  of  benevolent  interest, 
which  are  the  natural  language  of  love.  There  were 
no  reproofs,  no  remonstrances.  They  understood  that 
he  came  back  professedly  a sinner,  — and  a sinner  by 
choice.  And  having  already  exhausted  their  eflbrts  for 
his  recovery,  they  had  no  courage  to  do  or  say  anything 
more. 

Accordingly,  the  day  of  his  return  passed  away  witii- 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  309 

out  any  visible  signs  of  penitence  and  returning  union. 
And  yet  he  was  a son  and  a brother.  The  bright  sun 
went  down  over  the  hills ; and  the  various  members  of 
the  family,  resting  from  their  labors,  shared  in  each 
other’s  society.  At  the  usual  hour  in  the  evening,  they 
gathered  around  the  domestic  hearth,  as  had  ever  been 
their  custom,  that  they  might  pray  together,  and  mingle 
their  hearts  in  penitence  and  faith,  in  the  presence  of  their 
Maker,  before  they  slept.  The  father  read  the  Bible, 
and  prayed ; and  they  sang  their  evening  hymn.  This 
affecting  scene,  that  Bible  which  had  warned  and  in- 
structed his  childhood,  a parent’s  supplication,  that 
sacred  song  in  which  brothers  and  sisters  joined,  the 
presence  of  so  many  beloved  objects,  the  peace  and  puri- 
ty of  the  dear  and  sacred  heaven  of  home,  presented  in 
contrast  with  the  wretchedness  and  sin  of  the  scenes  to 
which  he  had  recently  been  accustomed,  broke  the  bar- 
rier of  his  rebellious  spirit ; the  tears  of  true  penitence 
and  love  fell  from  his  eyes ; and  he  was  rendered  doubly 
happy  by  being  restored,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  centre 
of  affections  in  God,  and  the  centre  of  affections  on 
earth. 

20.  Among  other  things  which  are  suggested  in  con- 
nection with  the  general  topic  under  consideration,  it 
may  properly  be  added  here,  that  these  vieyrs  aid  us  in 
rightly  estimating  the  laws  of  the  affections.  Every- 
thing has  its  nature.  Of  course,  everything  has  its 
laws,  not  excepting  the  passion  or  affection  of  love. 

The  original,  or  first  centre  of  love,  is  God.  From 
this  great  and  divine  centre,  it  flows  out  and  embodies 
itself  in  other  centres.  Love,  as  it  exists  in  God,  is  like 
the  ocean.  The  ocean  is  the  great  centre  of  waters.  It 
always  retains  its  central  position ; but,  at  the  same* 
time,  it  diffuses  itself  everywhere ; — forming  other  sub- 


310 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


ordinate  centreoj  in  plains,  and  on  mountain  tops,  in 
fountains  and  in  lakes,  from  which  issue  a multitude  of 
streams  and  rivilets,  giving  life  and  beauty.  In  like 
manner,  the  great  ocean  of  love  in  the  Godhead  empties 
itself  into  subordinate  centres,  which  are  in  harmony 
with  itself,  and  which,  in  imitation,  as  it  were,  of  the 
great  centre,  and  being,  in  fact,  but  continuations  of  the 
ebbings  and  flowings  of  the  great  central  ocean,  send 
out  their  waters  of  life  to  all  within  their  sphere  of 
movement. 

The  central  love,  then,  in  the  sphere  of  human  life,  is 
in  the  family.  From  the  family,  where  it  is  kept  full 
from  the  great  centre  in  the  Godhead,  it  flows  out  to  the 
neighborhood,  the  state,  and  the  world.  If  it  is  full  and 
beneficent  at  the  source,  it  will  be  full  and  beneficent 
in  its  issues;  and  not  otherwise.  Truth,  like  beauty, 
always  harmonizes  with  itself.  Truth,  in  the  centre  of 
the  affections,  will  always  secure  a right  or  true  move- 
ment. He,  who  is  not  true  to  his  father  and  mother, 
his  wife  and  children,  his  brother  and  sister,  being  false 
at  the  centre,  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  true  to  his  neighbor- 
hood, his  nation,  and  mankind.  How  is  it  possible  for 
him  to  be  true  in  his  affections,  when  the  truth  of  affec- 
tion is  not  in  him  ? And  besides,  if  it  were  possible 
that  his  love,  or  rather  the  pretence  of  love,  could  be 
given,  it  Avould  be  hardly  possible  that  it  could  be 
received.  Both  the  state  and  humanity  would  instinct- 
ively reject  an  offering  which  is  false  at  the  core. 

21.  Again,  this  subject  throws  light  upon  the  discus- 
sions which  are  now  held  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
on  the  subject  of  social-  reorganization.  These  discus- 
sions, which  already  shake  society  to  its  basis,  are  of  im- 
<'inense  consequence.  The  intellectual  ability  which  has 
oeen  brought  to  them  is  of  the  highest  order ; and  it  has 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REi)EMPTION.  311 

been  sustained,  in  many  cases,  by  a life  of  benevolence 
and  self-sacrifice.  Willing  as  we  are  to  do  justice  to  the 
ability,  and  the  good  motives  of  those  who  agitate  these 
great  problems,  it  is  obviously  the  duty  of  the  friends  of 
humanity  to  give  a careful  attention  to  their  movements, 
and  to  prevent  if  possible  the  introduction  of  error.  We 
are  ready  to  give  credit  for  many  good  suggestions, 
which  will,  in  due  time,  produce  their  appropriate  fruits. 
But  it  has  attracted  the  painful  notice  of  many  true  friends 
of  human  progress,  that  propositions  have  been  started, 
from  time  to  time,  which  affect  the  existence  of  the 
family. 

To  build  up  society  by  the  abolition  of  the  family 
seems  to  the  Christian  a strange  idea.  This  is  not  to 
reorganize  and  to  improve  society,  but  to  destroy  it.  As 
Christians,  we  are  bound  to  do  everything,  and,  what  is 
more,  we  shall  love  to  do  everything,  which  will  tend  to 
improve  the  condition,  and  to  increase  the  happiness,  of 
our  fellow-men.  But  we  cannot  throw  away  the  Bible ; 
— we  cannot  violate  the  first  principles  of  Christianity, 
especially  when  they  are  confirmed  by  sound  reasoning, 
have  their  signatures  and  proofs  in  the  affections,  and 
are  strengthened  by  the  lessons  of  all  history.  To 
injure  the  family  by  bringing  its  claims  into  doubt,  by 
diminishing  its  purity,  or  weakening  its  authority,  is  to  do 
an  injury  to  society  in  general.  Law,  order,  the  state, 
intellectual  improvement,  morals,  everything,  would  fall 
with  the  family.  And  it  would  so,  because  the  family 
is  of  God;  and  nothing  which  is  of  God  can  be  shaken 
out  of  its  position,  or  be  lost,  without  causing  the  most 
disastrous  results. 

22.  What  has  now  been  said  leads  to  another  remark, 
in  some  degree  connected  with  it.  Some  persons  have 
supposed,  (we  hardly  know  upon  what  grounds,)  that 


312 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


in  the  approaching  and  perfected  period  of  the  church, 
which  is  conveniently  denominated  the  millennial  period, 
the  family  institution,  admitted  by  these  persons  to  be 
necessary  until  that  time,  will  then  be  dispensed  with. 
If  this  view  were  correct,  it  would  be  of  but  little  im- 
portance to  contend  against  those  -erroneous  efforts  for 
the  immediate  reorganization  of  society,  to  which  we 
have  just  now  referred. 

Perhaps  the  idea  of  the  millennial  extinction  of  the 
family  has  arisen  from  the  imperfections,  the  sorrows, 
and  the  sins,  which  now  attend  it.  But,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say,  it  is  unsound  reasoning,  which  con- 
demns a good  thing,  especially  if  it  be  a great  good,  on 
account  of  the  perversions  to  which  it  is  sometimes 
liable.  Undoubtedly  the  imperfections  and  perversions, 
with  which  the  family  is  now  surrounded,  are  all  des- 
tined to  cease  in  that  better  period  ; — but  it  seems  to  us, 
that  nature,  reason,  and  the  Scriptures,  all  point  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  thing  itself,  the  substance  of  the 
institution,  will  remain.  Any  other  view  would,  of 
course,  deprive  the  mind  of  a centre  of  love  and  of  spir- 
itual rest  in  its  appropriate  sphere  of  life ; and  leave  it 
under  the  necessity  of  wandering  from  object  to  object, 
of  gratifying  momentary  impulses,  of  seeking  rest  and 
finding  none.  Such  a view  presents  to  us  a state  of 
things  made  worse,  instead  of  being  improved ; — a 
reduction  from  a higher  and  holier  state  to  one  less  per- 
fect ; — in  other  words,  a millennium  retrograde. 

We  admit  that  sin  has  obscured  the  ideal  of  the  fami- 
ly, as  it  existed  and  as  it  still  exists  in  the  mind  of  God. 
We  know,  very  well,  that  the  family  does  not  now  pre- 
sent its  true  aspect.  But  if  it  is  true  that  the  divine 
oeauty  of  the  original  conception  is  greatly  marred,  it 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  313 

is  also  true  that  its  brightness  will  be  restored  with  the 
extinction  of  the  sin  which  has  obscured  it. 

23.  We  conclude  these  views  of  this  important  sub- 
ject with  a single  remark  further.  It  seems  to  follow 
from  what  has  been  said,  (and  the  view,  we  think, 
might  be  supported  from  other  sources,)  that  the  social 
principle  will  be  sustained  in  full  exercise  in  heaven.  It 
seems  to  us  that  the  law  of  sociality,  out  of  which  spring 
families  and  societies,  is  universal  and  eternal.  It  would, 
perhaps,  not  be  too  much  to  say,  that  the  perfect  develop- 
ment of  the  social  principle  constitutes  heaven ; — and 
that,  on  the  other  hand,  perfect  isolation,  which  is  the 
complete  or  perfected  result  of  selfishness,  constitutes 
hell.  It  is  a great  mistake,  as  the  matter  presents  itself 
to  our  apprehension,  to  suppose  that  heaven  is  a solitary 
place ; and  much  more  that  it  is  so  spiritualized  as  to 
be  a mere  abstraction,  — a place  without  locality,  an 
existence  without  form,  a form  without  beauty.  Heaven 
has  far  more  substance  in  it,  than  such  shadowy  concep- 
tions would  seem  to  imply.  Heaven  is  not  the  extinc- 
tion of  existence,  nor  the  mere  shadoAV  of  existence,  but  a 
higher  and  purer  state  of  existence ; the  growth  and  per- 
fection of  that,  of  which  we  have  the  obscure  idea  in 
the  present  life. 

And,  accordingly,  reasoning  from  the  identity  of  truth, 
which  is  the  same  above  as  it  is  below,  we  cannot  hesi- 
tate in  saying,  that  love  is  the  life  of  heaven,  as  it  is  of 
earth.  And  such  is  the  nature  of  love,  that  it  must  have 
objects  there,  as  it  has  here.  It  must  have  its  laws 
there,  as  it  has  here.  It  must  have  its  great  centre  and 
also  its  subordinate  centres  there,  as  it  has  here.  It  must 
fulfil  its  own  ends  and  grow  up  into  society  there,  as  it 
does  here.  To  be  in  heaven,  and  not  to  be  in  the  exer- 
cise of  love,  is  a contradiction.  Angels  have  their  loves; 
27 


314 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


— and  heaven,  if  they  were  not  allowed  o exercise  thcnr 
benevolent  affections  there,  and  to  group  themselves 
together  in  bright  clusters,  in  accordance  with  the  consti- 
tutive and  eternal  laws  of  moral  beings,  would  cease  to 
be  heaven  to  them,  and  would  become  a place  of  sorrow. 
And  it  is  one  of  the  consolations  which  God  allows  us 
in  the  present  state,  in  being  permitted  to  believe  that 
the  wants  of  the  heart  here  will  be  met  and  solaced 
hereafter;  — that  those  suffering,  but  holy,  ones,  who 
have  been  smitten  and  robbed  in  the  rights  of  the  affec- 
tions here,  will  find  kindred  spirits,  (celestial  stars,  as  it 
were,  reflecting  their  own  brightness,)  who  will  meet 
and  embrace  them,  and  will  wipe  away  their  tea?s  at 
the  threshold  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


OF  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  WORK  OF  CIVIL  AND  NATIONAL 
REDEMPTION. 

The  consideration  of  the  family  naturally  followed  by  that  of  society  in 
general.  — Of  the  two  forms  of  society,  namely,  Internal  and  Exter- 
nal.— Internal  society  the  same  with  civil  society. — External  the 
same  with  international  society.  — Civil  or  internal  society  can  be 
perfected  only  in  proportion  as  God  becomes  the  lawgiver  of  it.  — Of 
the  law  of  nations. — Defects  in  this  law.  — Its  ultimate  improve- 
ment and  perfection.  — Keference  to  the  philanthropist,  William 
Ladd.  — Extract  from  a speech  of  Emile  de  Girardin. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  thought,  that  too  much  time  has 
been  occupied  in  the  consideration  of  the  family.  Such 
a suggestion  would  not  be  likely  to  be  made  on  a full 
examination  of  all  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  truth  is, 
that  the  family,  considered  in  the  various  aspects  in 
which  it  presents  itself, — its  origin,  its  history,  its  perver- 
sions, its  ennobling  joys,  its  mighty  influences,  the  neces- 
sity of  protecting  it,  its  gradual  perfection,— might  well 
occupy  a volume,  instead  of  a few  pages.  It  is  a sub- 
ject, whether  we  consider  its  intrinsic  nature  or  the  pecu- 
liar exigencies  of  the  times,  which  is  worthy  of  the  most 
extended  and  able  examination  which  can  be  given  it. 
The  true  principles  of  the  family,  as  well  as  the  practice 
appropriate  to  them,  its  perpetuity  as  well  as  its  high 
nature  in  other  respects,  ought  to  be  well  understood. 
In  all  these  particulars,  undoubtedly,  an  important  work 


316 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


is  to  be  done.  And  God,  intent  upon  the  restoration  of 
mankind  to  their  original  purity,  has  already  begun  it. 

Accordingly,  it  is  one  part  of  God’s  great  work,  in  the 
progress  of  redemption,  to  write  the  law  of  the  family 
in  all  its  parts  still  more  deeply  upon  the  human  soul  ; 
and  also  to  carry  out  this  divine  law  practically  by 
reconciling  man  and  woman  first  to  God,  and  then  to 
each  other,  by  reestablishing  marriage  upon  high  relig- 
ious principles,  so  that  God  shall  no  longer  be  excluded 
from  that  which  ought  to  be  especially  his  own  work, 
and  ‘^by  turning  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children, 
and  of  the  children  to  their  fathers,  lest  he  come  and 
smite  the  earth  with  a curse.”  ^ It  is  with  these  words 
that  he  closes  the  Old  Testament ; — a passage,  which 
indicates  what  is  involved  in,  and  what  is  expected  from, 
the  New.  If  even  now  there  is  no  name  so  sacred  as 
that  of  home,  it  is  destined,  in  the  purifications  of  Chris- 
tianity, to  be  surrounded  with  still  happier  associations. 
The  cloud,  which  has  so  long  overshadowed  it,  shall  be 
lifted  from  the  domestic  hearth.  The  bitter  tear,  which 
has  so  long  fallen  in  secret,  shall  no  longer  be  shed. 
There  shall  be  light  instead  of  darkness,  and  songs  for 
mourning. 

With  the  few  practical  suggestions  which  have  been 
made  in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  leave  it  to  individuals 
to  decide  in  what  way,  among  the  many  methods  of 
cooperation  which  present  themselves,  they  shall  labor 
in  the  advancement  of  this  important  object.  And, 
accordingly,  we  proceed  now  to  other  parts  of  God’s 
great  work  of  redemption,  in  which,  all  who  have 
Christ’s  spirit,  and  who  sympathize  with  their  heavenly 
Father  as  he  did.,  are  called  upon  to  unite. 

2.  Next  in  order  after  the  society  of  the  family,  the 


* Malachi  4 : 5. 


UNf.  ON  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  317 

subject  of  human  society,  in  its  more  general  forms, 
naturally  presents  itself.  In  proportion  as  the  influences 
of  Christianity  are  more  generally  and  fully  felt,  there 
will  be  a gradual  restoration  of  human  society  in  all  its 
aspects ; — so  that,  whil6  we  cannqt  always  foresee  what 
precise  form  it  will  take,  we  may  say,  in  general  terms, 
that  it  will  be  made  to  harmonize  perfectly  with  the 
principles  of  the  Gospel. 

But  in  order  fully  to  understand  the  subject  now  before 
us,  it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  society  may  be  contem- 
plated in  two  respects,  namely,  as  Internal  or  External. 
Society,  in  its  internal  form,  is  society  considered  as  con- 
sisting of  men,  who  live  within  the  limits  of  the  same 
commonwealth,  and  under  the  same  laws.  So  that 
society,  regarded  in  its  internal  aspect,  is  the  same  thing 
with  civil  society.  Society  in  its  external  form  is  soci- 
ety considered  as  consisting  in  the  union  of  common^ 
wealths  with  other  commonwealths  in  the  great  society 
of  nations.  As  the  first  may  be  called  civil  society, 
because  it  is  the  society  of  citizen  united  with  citizen 
under  the  authority  of  the  state ; so  the  latter  may  be 
denominated  international  society,  because  it  is  the 
society  of  nation  united  with  nation  under  the  author- 
ity of  the  law  of  nations. 

3.  Civil  society,  or  society  as  it  exists  between  man 
and  man  united  together  in  the  state,  is  very  impeifect. 
It  is  true  that  the  great  law  of  progress,  which  insures 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  good  over  evil,  has  reached  and 
beneficially  affected  the  combined  man  of  the  state,  as 
well  as  the  man  of  the  faniily,  and  the  man  individual. 
Men  in  A^^arious  ages  of  the  world,  Solon,  Lycurgus, 
Numa,  among  the  legislators  of  antiquity,  and  other  wise 
ami  benevolent  men  of  later  times,  have  endeavored  to 
improve  civil  society;  and  their  efforts  have  not  been 
27* 


318 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


without  success.  But,  after  all  that  has  been  done,  it  is 
still  attended  with  greid  imperfection. 

The  imperfection  of  human  society  is  the  necessary 
result  of  the  imperfection  of  those  human  laws  which 
give  it  shape  and  sust§,in  it.  Human  laws  are  imperfect 
for  the  simple  reason,  (at  least  it  is  not  necessary  to  men- 
tion other  reasons,)  that  the  human  mind,  which  is  the 
maker  of  human  law,  is  not  omniscient.  Law  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  the  expression  of  perfect  right.  Conse- 
quently, there  is  and  can  be  but  one  perfect  lawgiver, 
namely,  God  himself  Man,  by  the  very  fact  of  his 
creation  and  dependence,  is  properly  the  subject  of  law, 
and  not  the  author  of  law.  It  is  one  of  the  remarks  of 
Hooker,  the  distinguished  author  of  the  work  entitled 
‘^Ecclesiastical  Polity,’’  that  the  “seat  of  law  is  in  the 
bosom  of  God.”  Consequently,  if  views  and  remarks 
of  this  kind  are  justly  entitled  to  consideration,  human 
law  will  be  perfected,  and  human  society,  so  far  as  it  is 
sustained  by  law,  will  be  perfected,  just  in  proportion  as 
the  God  of  the  universe  descends  and  takes  possession, 
and  becomes  the  God  of  the  human  mind.  When  that 
is  the  case,  law  will  be  the  expression  of  right ; and  it 
will  not  be  more  just  and  right  in  itself,  than  it  will  be 
just  and  right  in  its  individual  applications. 

4.  It  could  hardly  be  expected,  that,  in  suggestions 
necessarily  so  brief  as  these,  we  should  undertake  to  indi- 
cate the  nature  or  the  degree  of  the  social  improvements 
that  are  destined  sooner  or  later  to  be  made.  To  one 
topic,  however,  it  may  be  proper  to  refer  in  one  or  two 
remarks.  In  all  times  past,  society,  (with  some  excep- 
tions undoubtedly,  but  comparatively  few,)  has  treated 
those  who  have  offended  against  it,  on  the  principles  of 
strict  justice,  — returning  “blow  for  blow,  and  stripe  for 
stripe.”  One  of  the  results  of  the  greater  prevalence  of 


UNION  IN  THE  WOEK  OF  REDEMPTION.  319 


the  Gospel  spirit  will  be,  to  mingle  mercy  with  justice, 
and  to  save  and  bless  the  criminal,  at  the  same  time  that 
all  necessary  measures  are  taken  for  the  protection  of 
society.  Within  a few  years,  benevolent  men,  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  world,  have  directed  their  attention  to 
this  important  subject.  They  have  not  been  ashamed 
to  have  it  understood  that  they  have  felt  a deep  interest 
in  the  situation  of  their  erring  and  lost  brethren,  who 
have  violated  the  rights  of  the  state,  — remembering  that 
they  themselves  also  are  sinners.  In  the  true  spirit, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  would 
not  and  did  not  “break  the  bruised  reed,”  they  have 
gone  to  the  prisoner;  they  have  taken  him  by  the 
hand ; they  have  fed  him,  clothed  him,  instructed  him. 
And  while  they  have  pressed  upon  him  the  necessity  of 
repentance  for  sins  committed,  they  have  held  up,  at  the 
same  time,  the  joyous  hope  of  sins  forgiven. 

The  result  of  the  prevalence  of  this  truly  Gospel  spirit 
will  be  gradually  to  modify  the  systems  of  civil  and 
criminal  jurisprudence.  Love,  founded  upon  faith,  and 
never  at  variance  with  justice,  will  be  recognized  as  a 
regulating  principle  in  the  conduct  of  the  social  body,  as 
it  is  and  ought  to  be  in  the  conduct  of  the  individual. 
Society,  having  faith  in  God,  and  in  itself  as  an  instru- 
ment of  God,  will  no  longer  crush  the  criminal  whom  it 
holds  in  its  grasp ; but  will  show  its  confidence  in  its 
mighty  strength,  by  mourning  for  those  whom  it  con- 
demns, and  by  gentiy  leading  them  back  to  truth,  to 
duty,  and  to  happiness. 

5.  But  society  has  its  external,  as  well  as  its  internal, 
form.  Society,  existing  in  the  external  form,  is  the  soci- 
ety of  nation  united  with  nation.  If  society  is  not  per- 
fected in  itself,  that  is  to  say,  in  its  civil  or  internal  form, 
still  less  is  it  perfected  in  its  external  relations.  Each 


320 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


nation,  existing  as  a corporate  civil  association,  stands  in 
a great  degree  by  itself;  recognizing  but  very  imper- 
fectly that  bond  of  international  brotherhood,  which 
should  bind  together  nation  with  nation.  One  of  its  first 
principles  is  its  relative  independence;  that  is  to  say, 
while  it  recognizes  in  the  general  sense  the  principle  of 
union,  it  claims  the  right  of  judging  of  its  own  interests, 
and  of  deciding  for  itself  in  all  cases.  Consequently, 
there  are  frequent  collisions.  Massive  and  giant-like  in 
its  strength,  but,  like  the  sightless  Polyphemus  of  the 
Grecian  poet,  nation,  blinded  by  passion,  dashes  against 
its  fellow-nation ; and  both  are  broken  by  the  concussion, 
and  are  covered  with  blood. 

6.  It  is  painful,  to  the  pure  and  fully  christianized 
mind,  to  read  the  history  of  nations.  We  need  no  argu- 
ment to  establish  the  doctrine  of  the  fallen  condition  of 
the  human  race,  in  addition  to  that  of  its  history.  Be- 
ginning with  Herodotus  and  the  other  Greek  historians 
of  that  period,  and  reading  the  records  of  mankind  in 
the  pages  of  eminent  writers  of  different  ages  and  coun- 
tries, what  do  we  find  but  a series  of  sorrows  and  crimes, 
arising  out  of  the  struggles  of  national  interest,  and  the 
antagonisms  of  national  passion  ? In  how  many  battle- 
fields has  human  right  contested  with  human  power, 
and  strength  gained  the  victory  over  justice ! It  is  not 
without  reason,  therefore,  that  Cowper,  whose  beautiful 
poems  have  the  merit  of  being  infused  with  a Christian 
spirit,  feelingly  exclaimed, 

“ Oh  for  a lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness, 

Some  boundless  contiguity  of  shade, 

Where  rumor  of  oppression  and  deceit. 

Of  unsuccessful  or  successful  war, 

Might  never  reach  me  more  ! ” 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  321 

It  is  the  pvrt  of  Christianity,  in  the  fulfilment  of  the 
great  plan  of  redemption,  to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of 
things.  Christ’s  work  on  earth  is  not  accomplished,  and 
of  course  the  work  of  his  followers  is  not  accomplished, 
so  long  as  wars  exist.  Let  it,  therefore,  be  the  language 
of  every  Christian  heart,  — language  which  shall  find  its 
issues  in  appropriate  action,  — that  wars  shall  exist  no 
longer. 

7.  And  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  we  have  grounds  for 
encouragement  and  hope.  The  Gospel  is  like  the  little 
leaven,  which  leaveneth  the  whole  lump ; always  oper- 
ating and  always  certain  of  securing  its  object,  but  not 
in  a manner  which  attracts  much  notice.  Operating  in 
this  gradual  manner,  the  Christian  religion  has  modified 
and  improved  the  doctrines  of  international  law.  The 
principles  which  regulate  the  intercourse  of  nations,  are 
different,  in  some  important  respects,  from  what  they 
were  a few  centuries  ago.  And  the  difference  shows  the 
secret  operation  and  influence  of  a religious  sentiment. 

For  instance,  it  was  once  a recognized  principle  in  the 
laws  of  nations,  that,  if  a merchant  vessel  were  wrecked 
on  a foreign  coast,  the  wreck  became  the  property  of  the 
occupants  of  the  coast,  although  the  real  owners  were 
living.  It  was  an  established  principle  also,  not  less  un- 
just, that,  if  a person,  resident  in  a foreign  country,  died 
there,  his  property,  instead  of  descending  to  those  whom 
he  designed  and  wished  to  be  his  heirs,  should  be  taken 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  country  where  he  happened 
to  be  resident  at  the  time  of  his  death.  It  was  also 
originally  one  of  the  laws  of  war,  which  make  a part  of 
the  existing  laws  of  nations,  that  the  prisoners  taken  in 
the  progress  of  a contest  might  be  put  to  death.  The 
conqueror  was  regarded  as  possessing  complete  power 
over  the  captured;  so  that  he  could  take  away  their 


322 


UNION  WITH  GOB. 


lives,  if  rie  supposed  their  death  would  turn  to  more 
account  than  their  preservation.  But,  in  these  and  in  a 
number  of  other  respects,  the  code  of  nations  has  been 
very  much  improved.  A more  benevolent  spirit  now  per- 
vades it.  But  still,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  it  is  far 
from  being  what  it  should  be. 

8.  Now,  it  may  not  be  the  duty  of  all  Christians  to 
labor  directly  for  the  improvement  of  the  code  of  nations, 
because  Providence  may  not  give  to  all  the  power  and 
the  opportunity  to  do  so ; but  it  belongs  to  Christianity, 

— it  is  a part  of  the  results  of  the  Christian  system,  — 
not  only  to  improve,  but  to  perfect  it.  Christianity, 
operating  from  the  centre  to  the  circumference,  contem- 
plates universal  advancement.  It  raises  all,  — and 
raises  all  at  the  same  time ; — not  only  the  individual, 
but  the  family,  the  state,  and  the  whole  world  as  it  is 
united  together  by  the  international  code. 

Every  man,  therefore,  who  fully  possesses  the  Chris- 
tian spirit,  and  whom  Providence  permits  to  labor  in  that 
direction,  will  bear  his  part  in  this  great  work.  His 
relations  to  God  are  such  that  he  will  necessarily  contrib- 
ute that  mite  or  talent,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  is 
appropriate  to  his  personal  ability,  and  his  position  in  the 
social  arrangement.  His  first  work  is  to  perfect  his  own 
nature ; or  rather,  to  let  God  do  it,  by  leaving  himself  in 
the  hands  of  the  divine  operator.  But  in  being  perfected 
in  himself,  he  is  perfected  at  the  same  time  in  the  rela- 
tions he  sustains  to  others.  In  being  a better  man,  he  is 
not  only  a better  father  and  husband,  but  a better  citizen; 

— and  while  he  labors  and  prays  for  the  new  and  per- 
fected life  of  those  immediately  around  him,  he  does 
what  he  can  for  the  restoration  of  all  others  in  all  places. 

9.  Think  not  that  nothing  can  be  done,  because  thou 
art  little  in  the  3yes  of  the  world.  The  result  does  not 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  323 


depend  upon  what  thou  art  in  the  worlc.^  but  upon 
what  thou  art  in  God.  It  is  God  only,  who  is  the  source 
of  all  good.  Various  are  the  instruments  he  employs. 
He  selects  them,  and  he  places  them  in  the  appropri- 
ate situations  to  be  used  by  him.  The  power,  whether 
it  be  more  or  less,  is  not  in  the  instrument,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, but  in  God,  who  selects  and  locates  it.  In  a 
multitude  of  instances  has  the  declaration  of  the  apostle 
been  illustrated,  that  ^^God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things 
of  the  world,  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty.’’  ^ 
A man  of  faith  and  prayer,  however  humble  his  situa- 
tion in  life,  may  yet  have  influence  enough  to  aflect  the 
destiny  of  nations. 

I will  refer  to  an  instance,  which  seems  to  be  appro- 
priate in  this  connection,  and  will  illustrate  what  has 
now  been  said.  Some  years  since,  I was  acquainted 
with  an  individual  who  has  now  gone  to  his  rest  and  his 
reward.  I have  reference  to  the  late  William  Ladd,  the 
niention  of  whose  name  will  recall  cherished  recollections 
to  many  hearts.  In  early  life,  he  followed  the  sea ; — in 
the  course  of  a few  years  he  became  the  commander  of 
a merchant  vessel,  and  acquired  some  amount  of  prop- 
erty. On  quitting  the  sea,  he  purchased  a farm  in  the 
inland  town  of  Minot,  in  the  state  of  Maine.  On  read- 
ing a tract  on  peace,  written  by  one  of  the  former  presi- 
dents of  Bowdoin  College,  he  was  led  to  reflect  upon  the 
inconsistency  of  war  Avith  the  Gospel.  Having  enjoyed 
favorable  opportunities  of  education  before  going  to  sea, 
and  being  a person  of  a strong  mind,  he  conceived  tlte 
idea  of  putting  an  end  to  war  thrcuighout  the  world  by 
means  of  a Congress  of  Nations^  which  should  have 
power  to  establish  an  international  code,  and  also  a High 


* 1 Corinthians  1 27. 


t 


324  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

Court  of  Nations.  What  a mighty  project  to  be  brought 
about  by  such  limited  agency ! 

A few  years  before  his  death,  I visited  his  retired  resi- 
dence. He  showed  me  the  room  in  which  he  had  writ- 
ten the  numerous  papers,  and  even  volumes,  on  the 
subject  of  war.  Walking  with  him  in  one  of  his  beau- 
tiful fields,  he  pointed  to  a small  cluster  of  trees  at  a 
little  distance,  and  said,  It  was  beneath  those  trees  that 
I solemnly  consecrated  myself  in  prayer  to  this  one  work 
of  impressing  upon  the  minds  of  men  the  principles  of 
peace.’’  For  many  years  he  spent  a large  portion  of  his 
time  in  going  from  city  to  city,  and  from  town  to  town, 
in  almost  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  introducing  the 
subject  of  peace  to  associations  of  ministers,  conversing 
with  all  classes  of  persons  in  relation  to  it,  and  lecturing 
wherever  he  could  find  an  audience.  I met  with  him 
often,  and  have  been  deeply  afiected  with  his  simplicity 
and  fixedness  of  purpose.  He  fully  believed  that  God 
had  inspired  within  him  that  central  idea,  around  which 
the  labors  of  his  life  turned.  And  those  who  knew  him 
intimately,  could  hardly  fail  to  be  impressed  with  a sim- 
ilar conviction.  He  corresponded  with  distinguished 
individuals  in  Europe ; — he  scattered  his  numerous 
tracts  and  other  writings  on  this  momentous  subject  in 
all  parts  of  the  world.  For  many  years  the  important 
movements  of  the  American  Peace  Society  appeared  to 
rest  upon  him  far  more  than  upon  any  other  individual. 
He  died ; and  although  he  was  preceded  and  has  been 
followed  by  others  of  a kindred  spirit,  he  was  the  means, 
under  God,  of  giving  an  impulse  to  the  cause  of  peace, 
which  is  felt  throughout  the  world.  Society,  penetrated 
by  the  great  thought  of  universal  pacification,  seems  to 
be  brought  to  a pause.  At  Brussels,  at  Paris,  at  Frank- 
fort-on-the-Maine,  at  London,  we  see  nations,  as  it  were. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  325 


assembled  in  great  Congresses,  and  consulting  on  their 
position  and  duties,  in  consequence  of  the  impulse  which 
God  was  pleased  to  communicate,  in  a great  degree, 
through  the  labors  of  this  comparatively  humble  indi- 
vidual. Let  us  not,  then,  look  upon  the  outward  person 
or  the  outward  situation.  It  is  one  of  the  attributes  of 
God  to  deduce  great  results  from  small  causes.  Wher- 
ever there  is  faith  in  God,  there  is  power,  — whatever 
may  be  the  situation  of  the  person  who  exercises  it. 

10.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  this  work,  we 
are  desirous  not  to  forget  the  great  object  had  in  view, 
namely,  the  illustration  of  man’s  position,  relations,  and 
principles  of  action,  in  the  higher  forms  of  religious 
experience.  It  is  taken  for  granted,  that  the  subject  of 
this  higher  experience  has  passed  through  the  more  com- 
mon forms  of  religious  experience;  and  has  advanced 
from  the  incipient  state  of  justification,  and  from  the 
earlier  gradations  or  steps  of  sanctification,  to  that  state 
of  DIVINE  UNION,  ill  which  he  can  say  with  a good  degree 
of  confidence,  ‘^I  and  my  Father  are  one.”  With  this 
remark  kept  in  view,  we  proceed  to  say  here,  that  man, 
in  the  early  periods  of  his  religious  history,  is  generally 
moved  in  the  sphere  which  is  appropriate  to  a renovated 
nature,  in  part  by  the  principle  of  holy  love,  and  in  part 
also,  — and  often  in  the  greater  part,  — by  the  constraints 
of  the  moral  sense.  The  distinction  between  these  two 
principles  of  action  we  have  already  endeavored  to 
illustrate  at  the  eighth  chapter  of  Part  IV.  At  a later 
period  of  his  inward  history,  if  he  is  the  subject  of  all 
that  the  Gospel  is  designed  to  realize  in  him,  the  princi- 
ple of  holy  love  will  be  so  increased  in  strength  as  to  be 
the  constant  and  predominant  principle  of  action.  And, 
although  at  this  later  period  (the  period  with  which  this 
work  is  principally  occupied)  the  moral  sense  is  greatly 
28 


326 


DIVINE  UNION. 


enlightened,  and  is  increasingly  sensitive  to  distinctions 
of  right  and  wrong,  still,  if  the  principle  of  love  is 
supreme,  the  presence  and  operations  of  the  moral  sus- 
ceptibility will  not  much  be  felt  in  the  compulsive  form, 
but  chiefly  in  the  instruction  it  gives,  — that  is  to  say, 
in  its  indications  of  that  ^‘straight  and  narrow’’  path 
into  which  holy  love  leads,  and  also  in  the  constant 
manifestations  of  its  approbation.  In  other  words,  the 
Christian,  at  this  later  period,  will  be  brought  more  fully 
and  permanently  into  the  true  life  of  love. 

11.  What,  therefore,  we  wish  to  add  here,  is  this. 

Those,  who  are  truly  and  fully  united  with  God,  will  be 
found  to  harmonize  with  him  in  the  great  work  of 
redemption,  in  the  various  forms  of  it  to  which  we  have 
attended,  and  in  all  other  forms,  by  the  natural  workings 
of  the  central  principle  or  life^  and  not  by  anything 
which  is  merely  incidental  or  additional  to  the  life.  If 
they  are  in  God  by  an  unity  of  life,  then  the  life  of  God 
and  the  life  of  those  who  are  thus  born  of  God,  can 
always  be  said,  in  whatever  their  heavenly  Father  calls 
them  to  do,  to  be  one.  And,  consequently,  living  with  a 
divine  life,  and  the  life  being  the  as  well  as  the 

life,  (that  is  to  say,  being  under  God  the  true  and  most 
important  interpreter  of  the  divine  will,)  they  cannot 
possibly  be  separated  from  him  in  that  great  work  of 
redemption  which  is  so  dear  to  him. 

12.  In  cooperating  in  the  great  work  of  redemption, 
the  truly  holy  man  will  preach,  for  instance,  not  merely 
or  chiefly  to  fulfil  the  requisitions  of  conscience,  which 
tells  him  what  he  ought  to  be,  — but  having  already 
become  what  he  ought  to  be  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  his  soul,  he  preaches  in  fulfilment  of  the  requi- 
sitions of  the  life,  which  is  now  actually  in  him.  He 
will  relieve  the  poor  and  sick,  and  do  other  works  of 
benevolence,  not  for  the  purpose  of  stifling  the  feelings 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  327 

of  remorse,  but  in  the  natural  and  self-moved  fulfilment 
of  the  instigations  of  a renovated  nature.  Like  the  Son 
of  God,  in  whose  image  he  is  born,  he  ^^hath  life  in  him,’- 
selfP  In  the  language  of  the  apostle  Paul,  the  “love 
of  Christ  constraineth’’  him. 

13.  It  may  be  said  of  such  a man,  with  a good  deal 
of  reason,  that  he  realizes,  in  the  operations  and  rela- 
tions of  his  spiritual  nature,  the  truth  of  the  vision  of 
Ezekiel.  It  was  not  without  a spiritual  meaning  that 
the  prophet,  on  the  banks  of  the  Chebar,  saw  a vision  of 
“ wheels  in  the  middle  of  a wheel,’’  all  moving  with  the 
same  principle  of  life.  In  like  manner,  the  holy  man, 
being  in  God  by  the  possession  of  a divine  nature,  con- 
stitutes a life  within  a life,  “ a wheel  within  a wheel;” 
— living  and  acting  in  that  true  and  beautiful  position, 
which  the  finite,  when  not  dislodged  from  its  original 
adjustment,  always  sustains  in  the  Infinite.  Without 
being  in  the  same  form  or  personality  of  existence,  he 
possesses,  by  unity  of  spirit,  the  same  central  element  of 
existence.  And  whenever  and  wherever  God  moves  in 
the  great  work  of  redemption,  — whether  it  be  to  relieve 
the  sick  and  to  enlighten  the  ignorant  at  home,  or  to 
pour  light  into  the  dark  minds  of  the  heathen  abroad,  or 
in  whatever  other  work  of  benevolence,  — he  can  neither 
be  out  of  harmony  with  the  divine  mind,  nor  cease  to  be 
cooperative  in  the  divine  plans  of  action. 


THE  CAMP  HAS  HAD  ITS  DAY  OF  SONG.* 

The  camp  has  had  its  day  of  song ; 

The  sword,  the  bayonet,  the  plume 
Have  crowded  out  of  rhyme  too  long 
The  plough,  the  anvil,  and  the  loom ! 


328 


DIVINE  UNION. 


O,  not  upon  our  tented  fields 

Are  Freedom’s  heroes  bred  alone; 

The  training  of  the  work-shop  yields 
More  heroes  true  than  War  has  known! 

Who  drives  the  bolt,  who  shades  the  steel, 

May,  with  a heart  as  valiant,  smite, 

As  he,  who  sees  a foeman  reel 

In  blood  before  his  blow  of  might ! 

The  skill  that  conquers  space  and  time, 

That  graces  life,  that  lightens  toil. 

May  spring  from  courage  more  sublime 
Than  that  which  makes  a realm  its  spoil. 

Let  Labor,  then,  look  up  and  see. 

His  craft  no  pith  of  honor  lacks  ; 

The  soldier’s  rifle  yet  shall  be 

Less  honored  than  the  woodman’s  axe ! 

Let  Art  his  own  appointment  prize, 

Nor  deem  that  gold  or  outward  height 

Can  compensate  the  worth  that  lies 
In  tastes  that  breed  their  own  delight. 

And  may  the  time  draw  nearer  still 
When  men  this  sacred  truth  shall  heed. 

That  from  the  thought  and  from  the  will 
Must  all  that  raises  man  proceed  ! 

Though  pride  should  hold  our  calling  low 
For  us  shall  duty  make  it  good; 

And  v-3  from  truth  to  truth  shall  go. 

Till  life  and  death  are  understood. 

* Ode  composed  for  the  Charitable  Mechanic  Association  of  Massa- 
chusetts, by  E.  Sargent,  Esq. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CN  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  REDEMPTION  OF  THE  ARTS  AND 
LITERATURE. 

Of  the  necessity  of  a divine  guidance  in  art  and  literature.  — Of  the 
early  opinions  among  men  on  this  subject.  — Of  union  with  God  in 
the  mechanic  and  other  subordinate  arts.  — Of  union  with  God  in 
the  fine  arts.  — Illustrated  from  the  paintings  of  Raphael.  — The 
subject  pursued  in  its  relations  to  history  and  poetry.  — Its  applica- 
tion to  seminaries  of  learning. — Reference  to  a pious  teacher. — 
Concluding  Remarks. 

If  God  is  man’s  great  teacher,  as  we  have  seen  in  a 
former  part  of  this  work,  then,  in  his  efforts  in  acquiring 
knowledge,  he  will  be  likely  to  go  astray  and  to  seek  out 
hurtful  inventions,”  ^ so  far  as  he  does  not  accept  a 
divine  guidance.  It  is,  therefore,  not  too  much  to  say, 
that  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  inward  teacher  sent  down  from 
heaven,  both  ought  to  be,  and  that  he  is  designed  to  be, 
the  great  master  in  art  and  literature.  And  it  is  worthy 
of  notice,  that  heathen  nations,  who  everywhere  give 
evidence  that  they  have  some  glimpses  of  the  truth, 
agree  in  ascribing  the  early  inventions  in  art,  and  the 
early  works  in  poetry  and  music,  either  to  a divine 
agency  or  to  human  agency  aided  by  divine.  According 
to  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks,  it  required  the  skill  of 
Mercury  to  invent  the  lyre ; — and  there  could  neither 
be  poetry  lor  music  without  the  aid  of  Apollo  and  the 

28* 


* Ecclesiastes  7 : 29. 


330 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


muses.  Accordingly,  the  great  poets  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  frequently  begin  their  works  by  a distinct  recog- 
nition of  their  dependence  upon  a higher  power,  who 
gave  inspiration  to  their  thoughts.  And  it  is  worthy  of 
notice  that  Livy,  in  the  commencement  of  his  work  on 
Roman  history,  (certainly  in  many  of  its  attributes  one 
of  the  most  perfect  and  interesting  works  of  that  kind,) 
proposes  to  his  readers,  that  they  should  imitate  the  cus- 
tom of  the  poets,  and  commence  their  undertaking  by 
supplicating  the  presence  and  aid  of  the  gods. 

2.  But  it  is  needless  to  recapitulate  instances.  The 
idea  that  a higher  power  was  needed  in  the  development 
of  all  good  things,  was  so  universal  in  the  early  periods 
of  the  human  race,  that  it  might  well  be  called  an 
instinct  of  man’s  nature.  The  ideas  which  men  then 
entertained  of  God,  were  oftentimes  very  imperfect,  and 
perhaps  generally  so;  but,  whatever  they  might  con- 
ceive him  to  be,  they  had  a conviction,  which  was 
entitled  to  higher  and  better  practical  results,  that  he 
was  the  true  source  of  all  good.  Mr.  Dryden  has  alluded 
to  this  early  conviction  in  some  happy  lines : — 

“ When  Jubal  struck  the  chorded  shell, 

His  listening  brethren  stood  around, 

And  wondering,  on  their  faces  fell. 

To  worship  that  celestial  sound. 

Less  than  a God  they  thought  there  could  not  dwell 
Within  the  hollow  of  that  shell. 

Which  spoke  so  sweetly  and  so  well.’’ 

3.  Readily,  and  with  entire  strength  of  conviction,  do 
we  yield  our  assent  to  the  great  truth,  which  is  thus  im- 
perfectly indicated  in  benighted  times  and  by  the  dim 
light  of  nature,  while  it  is  clearly  asserted  and  illustrated 
in  the  Scriptures.  All  poetry,  all  music,  all  painting,  all 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  331 

Statuary  and  architecture,  all  wisdom  in  legislation,  ah 
useful  mechanic  invention,  everything  whatever,  which 
has  in  it  the  elements  of  living  truth  and  beauty,  implies 
the  fact,  as  it  seems  to  us,  of  the  presence  and  aid  of 
a divine  power.  At  any  rate,  so  far  as  these  things, 
or  things  of  a kindred  nature,  are  done  or  attempted  to 
be  done  without  divine  aid,  so  far  they  are  attended  with 
imperfection.  And  so  far  as  they  are  imperfect,  and 
could  be  carried  into  effect  otherwise  and  better  than 
they  are,  so  far  they  stand  in  need  of  redemption  ; — a 
redemption,  which  comes  to  them  through  the  mediation 
of  Jesus  Christ,  as  truly  as  redemption  comes  in  any 
other  form  from  that  source. 

Believing,  therefore,  that  the  work  of  redemption  and 
restoration  extends  to  all  things,  and  that  no  art  or  work 
of  man  can  be  carried  to  its  highest  and  most  beneficial 
results  without  God’s  presence,  we  proceed  now  to  illus- 
trate the  union  of  God  with  man  in  the  redemption  and 
perfection  of  the  arts  and  literature. 

And,  in  doing  this,  we  shall  first  refer  briefly  to  those 
arts  which,  though  very  useful  and  necessary,  are  gener- 
ally regarded  as  comparatively  low  in  rank.  Our  view 
is,  that  the  divine  presence  and  aid  are  necessary  in  the 
development  and  application  of  all  such  arts,  however 
humble  they  may  be  thought  to  be.  The  art  of  agricul- 
ture, the  mechanic  arts,  the  arts  connected  with  domestic 
life,  all  of  them  not  only  admit,  but  require,  the  union  of 
the  divine  with  the  human,  in  order  to  secure  their  per- 
fection and  their  proper  use.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  say, 
that  the  man  who  holds  the  plough,  the  man  who  lifts 
his  arm  of  toil  in  the  workshop,  can  do  it  usefully  and 
happily,  only  so  far  as  he  does  it  in  connection  with  God. 
The  true  doctrine  is,  — God  in  all  things.  God  made 
the  earth ; — God  sends  the  rains,  that  fertilize  it.  But 


332 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


this  is  not  all.  It  is  equally  true,  whenever  and  wher- 
ever the  original  harmony  of  things  is  readjusted,  that 
God  guides  the  hand  that  guides  the  plough,  and  smites 
in  the  hand  that  smites  the  anvil.  And  the  laborer  and 
the  artisan  are  not  in  true  union  with  God,  until  they 
have  dispositions  which  will  lead  them  to  pray  and  to 
believe  that  this  may  be  the  case. 

4.  And  especially  may  this  be  said,  because  all  arts 
and  labors  have  relationships  and  influences  beyond 
what  is  first  presented  to  our  notice.  It  is  obvious,  for 
instance,  that  God  designs  that  the  Gospel  shall  be 
preached  in  all  lands.  And  this  great  and  benevolent 
design  as  obviously  involves  the  fact,  that  missionaries 
must  be  sent  just  as  far  and  as  widely  as  the  Gospel  is 
to  be  preached.  And  every  one  perceives  that  they  can- 
not thus  go  from  land  to  land,  and  over  intermediate 
seas,  without  the  aid  of  ships  and  other  conveyances. 
Those,  therefore,  who  build  ships,  and  those  who  navi- 
gate them,  and  those  who  develop  and  perfect  the  prin- 
ciples and  methods  of  navigation,  are  all  in  the  natural 
line  of  divine  cooperation ; that  is  to  say,  — they  are 
doing  a sort  of  work  which  God  designs  and  wishes 
them  to  do.  And  if  they  will  only  add  the  spirit  of 
union  to  the  form  of  union,  then  they  are  actually  in  the 
state  of  union,  so  far  as  this  particular  thing  is  concerned, 
and  will  do  just  what  they  ought  to  do.  And  Avithout 
the  spirit  of  union,  which  leads  them  to  look  to  God  in 
everything,  they  will  fail  to  do  what  they  ought  to  do. 
God,  dwelling  in  the  soul,  is  just  as  necessary  to  make  a 
good  sailor  as  to  make  a good  preacher. 

God  not  only  needs  missionaries,  who  are  to  be  sent 
abroad  in  ships ; but  he  needs  Bibles  to  be  distributed  by 
those  missionaries.  But  Bibles  must  be  printed;  and 
they  cannot  b?  printed  without  printers  to  do  the  work. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  333 


Printers,  therefore,  are  as  necessary  in  their  sphere  as 
missionaries.  And  the  remark  which  has  just  been 
made,  may  be  repeated  here,  namely,  that  the  presence 
of  God  in  :he  soul  is  as  necessary  for  printers,  in  order 
to  help  them  do  their  work  properly,  as  it  is  for  others. 
And  this  is  true  of  every  art  and  calling  whatever.  No 
art  ever  comes  to  its  ultimate  and  highest  good,  and 
never  can  come  to  such  good,  except  so  far  as  it  has  God 
in  it,  both  to  approve  the  thing  done,  and  to  direct  and 
aid  in  doing  it. 

5.  And  this  we  understand  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible  everywhere.  When  Moses  was  required  to  build 
the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  employ  mechanics.  But  the  fact  of  their  being 
mechanics  did  not  exclude  the  idea  of  their  being  taught 
of  God.  On  the  contrary,  God  seemed  to  be  unwilling 
that  any  should  be  employed  except  those  in  whom  his 
own  spirit  of  wisdom  dwelt.  He  did  not  propose  to  do 
the  work  miraculously; — but,  in  using  human  instru- 
mentality, he  was  desirous  of  finding  men  of  such  dis- 
positions that  he  could  enter  into  them;  and  working 
imitively^  if  we  may  so  express  it,  perfect  the  human 
thought  by  harmonizing  it  with  the  divine.  The  pas- 
sage in  relation  to  this  matter  is  one  of  great  and  beau- 
tiful interest. 

And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  — See,  I 
have  called  by  name  Bezaleel,  the  son  of  Uri,  the  son  of 
Hur,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah. 

‘^And  I have  filled  him  with  the  spirit  of  God,  in  wis- 
dom, and  in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge,  and  in 
all  manner  of  workmanship ; — to  devise  cunning  works, 
to  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in  brass,  and  in  cut- 
ting of  stones  to  set  them,  and  in  carving  of  timber,  to 
work  in  all  manner  of  workmanship. 


334 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


“ And  I,  behold,  I have  given  with  him  Aholiab,  the 
son  of  Ahisamach,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan ; — and  in  the 
hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted  I have  put  wisdom, 
that  they  may  make  all  that  I have  commanded  thee.”  ^ 
The  following  striking  stanzas  of  George  Herbert,  an 
old  English  poet,  now  almost  forgotten,  illustrate  and  sus- 
tain some  of  the  views  which  have  now  been  expressed. 

TEACH  ME,  MY  GOD  AND  KING. 

Teach  me,  my  God  and  King, 

In  all  things  Thee  to  see, 

And  what  I do  in  anything 
To  do  it  unto  Thee, 

Not  rudely,  as  a beast. 

To  run  into  an  action ; 

But  still  to  make  Thee  prepossest, 

And  give  it  thy  perfection. 

A man,  that  looks  on  glass. 

On  it  may  stay  his  eye, 

Or,  if  he  pleaseth,  through  it  pass, 

And  then  the  heaven  espy. 

All  may  of  Thee  partake. 

Nothing  can  be  so  mean, 

That  with  this  tincture,  — for  thy  sake, 

Will  not  grow  bright  and  clean. 

A servant,  with  this  clause. 

Makes  drudgery  divine ; 

Who  sweeps  a room,  as  for  thy  laws, 

Makes  that^  and  the  action^  fine. 

This  is  the  famous  ^tone 
That  turneth  all  t ; gold ; 

For  that  which  God  doth  touch  and  own 
Cannot  for  less  be  told. 

* Exodus  31 : 1 — 6 j also,  36  : 1 — 4. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  335 

6.  These  views  will  apply  easily,  and  perhaps  still 
more  strikingly,  to  the  liberal  or  fine  arts,  and  to  the  va- 
rious forms  of  literature.  If  a divine  guidance  is  neces- 
sary to  make  a man  perfect  in  the  more  common  arts  of 
life,  so  that  he  cannot  build  his  own  habitation,  or  do 
any  other  mechanic  work  as  he  ought  to  do,  without  God 
to  help  him,  — still  more  is  such  guidance  necessary  in 
those  arts  which  imply  higher  exercises  of  the  intellect, 
such  as  painting  and  sculpture.  Give  a man  all  the 
requisites  of  a great  painter,  a practised  hand,  an  eye 
alive  to  all  the  beauties  of  external  nature,  a creative 
imagination;  — and  then  add  a heart  in  alliance  with 
God,  and  rich  in  holy  feelings,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  limit 
the  beautiful  and  sublime  works  which  his  pencil  will 
give  rise  to.  The  same  may  be  said  of  sculpture  and  of 
architecture  in  its  higher  forms. 

And  such  are  the  difficulties  attending  these  arts,  when 
it  is  proposed  to  carry  them  to  their  highest  results,  — so 
much  invention  is  necessary,  so  much  care  in  the  rela- 
tive adjustment  of  the  parts  which  a happy  invention 
has  given  rise  to,  so  much  wisdom  and  skill  in  conveying 
inward  thought  and  feeling  by  outward  form  and  gesture, 
— not  to  speak  of  other  difficulties  and  other  requisites, — 
that  all  great  artists,  if  they  sympathize  with  their  own 
aspirations,  and  are  true  to  the  instincts  of  their  own 
nature,  feel  very  much  their  need  of  a higher  power  to 
guide  them.  They  know  that  nothing  but  God  could 
carry  out  and  complete  the  outlines  of  beauty  and 
grandeur,  which  often  fioat  vividly  before  them;  — and, 
under  the  pressure  of  this  conviction,  their  souls  instinct- 
ively yearn  for  the  possession  of  that  divine  presence 
and  aid,  which  would  enable  them  to  complete  what 
their  imaginations  have  conceived. 

The  subject  of  one  of  the  great  paintings  of  Kapliael  is 


336 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


“Paul  preaching  at  Athens.”  The  conception  of  the 
apostle  as  the  living  embodiment  of  a new  and  purer 
religion,  his  position  in  the  front  and  on  the  steps  of  a 
heathen  temple,  the  mighty  power  of  truth  and  Chris- 
tian benevolence  which  struggles  forth  in  his  dignified 
but  fervent  attitude  and  action,  the  different  groups  that 
stand  or  are  seated  around  him ; — some  calmly  indiffer- 
ent and  sceptical;  — some  expressing  in  their  counte- 
nances the  mingled  feelings  of  fear  and  hatred;  — others 
yielding  a rational  conviction,  and  showing  the  signs  of 
true  sensibility  and  rising  hope ; — all  combined  together 
present  a scene  of  the  greatest  conceivable  interest.  How 
is  it  possible  that  a great  painter,  who  appreciates  the 
magnitude  of  such  a work,  the  exceeding  difficulties 
attending  its  execution,  and  the  mighty  moral  influences 
which  follow  a successful  result,  can  enter  upon  it,  with- 
out first  praying  to  God  for  wisdom  and  help,  and  with- 
out continuing  to  pray  for  them  at  every  successive  step? 

7.  Literature  also  will  fail  to  arrive  at  and  to  sustain 
itself  in  its  perfected  life  and  beauty  without  the  spirit  of 
God  in  it.  Take,  for  instance,  the  single  department  of 
history,  which  is  undoubtedly  one  of  great  importance 
and  interest.  The  importance  of  history  is  seen,  when 
we  consider  that  the  history  of  the  deeds  and  sufferings 
of  man  is  at  the  same  time  the  history  of  the  dealings  of 
God  with  man.  It  details  the  conflicts  of  virtue  and  vice, 
and  anticipates,  in  the  conclusion  of  its  pages,  the  de- 
struction of  the  one,  and  the  final  victory  of  the  other. 
There  is  a close  connection  between  human  history  and 
the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  world ; — as  the  incidents  in 
the  history  of  all  nations,  previous  to  that  event,  seem  to 
have  been  arranged  in  reference  to  it,  and  all  subsequent 
history  has  been  influenced  by  it.  And,  in  this  point  of 
view,  many  judicious  persons  have  been  disposed,  with 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  337 

much  reason,  to  set  a high  value  upon  the  work  of  Presi- 
dent Edwards,  entitled  ‘‘  The  History  of  Redemption.” 
The  object  of  this  interesting  work  is,  to  give  an  outline 
of  the  history  of  the  human  race,  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  redemption ; — uniting  the  two  in  s ach  a man- 
ner as  to  show  their  reciprocal  relations  and  influences. 
And  the  history  is  exceedingly  valuable,  not  because  it 
illustrates  the  idea  of  history  in  all  respects,  but  because 
it  so  fully  introduces  an  element,  or  point  of  view,  which 
is  generally  left  out. 

As  a general  thing,  history  has  limited  itself  to  giving 
an  account  of  national  wars.  It  has  been  so  written,  for 
the  most  part,  as  to  be  a commemoration  of  deeds  of  vio- 
lence, so  that  he,  who  kills  the  most  and  conquers  the 
most,  however  deficient  in  civic  and  moral  virtues,  holds 
the  prominent  position,  and  is  made  the  subject  of  undue 
panegyric.  But  history,  in  order  to  be  a true  record  of 
the  human  race,  should  embrace  not  only  war,  but  also 
civil  and  political  events,  and  the  progress  of  the  arts  and 
literature ; — so  that  the  man,  who  serves  his  country  by 
peaceful  labors  and  excellences,  may  have  his  reward, 
as  well  as  the  warrior.  ^ 

A favorable  change,  however,  has  already  taken  place. 
The  spirit  of  the  Gospel  is  beginning  to  take  effect. 
The  rights,  the  happiness,  the  immortal  interests  of  the 
masses  of  men  are  receiving  a consideration  which  they 
have  not  received  before.  And  history  at  last  sees  the 
wisdom  of  placing  the  man  who  has  made  improvements 
in  some  useful  art,  or  has  done  some  benevolent  deed,  on 
a footing  at  least  with  those  who  command  armies. 
And  so  far  as  the  historian,  looking  to  God  and  receiving 
direction  from  that  source,  has  an  eye  to  the  good  of 
mankind  and  the  claims  and  advancement  of  virtue,  he 
29 


338 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


is  in  union  v/ith  God.  And  this  is  at  the  same  time  his 
highest  honor,  and  the  source  of  his  highest  power. 

8.  The  doctrine  of  divine  union  applies  to  everytl  jng. 
We  may,  perhaps,  further  illustrate  it,  in  its  connection 
with  literature,  by  some  references  to  poetry  as  well  as 
history.  Without  stopping  to  say  what  poetry  is,  or  on 
what  principles  it  operates,  every  one  knows  that  its  in- 
fluence has  been  very  great.  But  it  is  to  be  regretted, 
that,  like  history,  it  has  been  employed,  for  the  most  part, 
in  immortalizing  deeds  of  cruelty,  and  in  giving  lustre  to 
crime.  Or,  if  it  should  be  said  in  modification  of  this 
statement,  that  it  has  given  a larger  share  of  its  attention 
to  love  than  history  has,  it  ought  to  be  added  that  the 
love  which  it  celebrates  has  not  always  been  that  refined 
and  pure  love,  which  receives  the  sanction  of  Christi- 
anity. 

It  is  a matter  of  great  satisfaction,  however,  that  a 
change  is  beginning  to  take  place  in  this  department 
of  literature,  as  well  as  in  others.  The  eclat  of  war, 
although  it  has  yet  a strong  hold  upon  fallen  humanity, 
is  much  diminished;  and  domestic  affections,  regulated 
and  refined  by  religious  sentiment,  are  more  highly  ap- 
preciated, as  compared  with  irregular  and  sinful  desires. 
Rural  and  domestic  life  and  other  subjects,  such  as  are 
congenial  with  the  truths  of  nature,  and  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Gospel,  are  beginning  to  find  hearts  that  can  esti- 
mate, and  pens  that  can  develop,  them.  The  man  who 
writes  a poem  after  the  manner  and  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Eclogues  and  Georgies  of  Virgil,  or,  taking  more  recent 
examples,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Seasons  of  Thomson  and 
the  Task  of  Cowper,  in  which  the  beauties  of  nature 
and  the  humble  virtues  of  agricultural  life  are  celebrated, 
does  a great  work  for  God  and  humanity.  The  Scotch 
noet,  Burns,  has  sung  both  of  war  and  love ; and  few 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  339 


persons  have  touched  with  a stronger  hand  those  mighty 
passions ; but  the  time  is  coming,  when  the  gentler  and 
purer  virtues,  which  are  celebrated  in  his  beautiful  poem, 
entitled  ^^The  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night,”  will  excite  a 
wider  ^nd  deeper  interest. 

9.  Poetry  has  done  much  for  vice.  The  day  has 
come  when  it  is  expected  to  do  much  for  virtue.  This 
is  not  an  art  in  which  it  is  safe  for  a man  to  separate 
himself  from  God.  Let  it  be  employed  in  showing  the 
deformities  of  wickedness  and  the  excellences  of  good- 
ness ; in  depicting  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  in 
describing  the  attributes  of  the  God  of  nature ; and  in 
encouraging  men  to  walk  in  the  paths  of  truth  and 
peace. 

Among  other  things,  it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that 
poetry  has  its  religious  uses.  If  angels  sung  at  the  birth 
of  the  Saviour,  certainly  there  is  more  reason  that  men 
should  sing.  The  author  of  a good  hymn,  expressive  of 
sentiments  of  Christian  piety,  may  feel  that  he  has  lived 
and  labored  to  some  purpose.  In  enumerating  those 
who  through  divine  grace  have  done  a good  and  great 
work  for  God  and  his  church,  we  should  not  be  likely  to 
forget  the  names  of  Watts,  Cowper,  and  Wesley.  How 
many  thousands  of  hearts,  in  successive  ages,  have  been 
cheered  by  the  simple  but  impressive  stanzas,  the  author 
of  which  I believe  is  unknown,  which  begin  with  the 
lines : — 

“ Jerusalem ! my  happy  home ! 

Name  ever  dear  to  me.” 

But  whatever  a person  undertakes  to  write  of  this 
kind,  whether  hymns  or  poetry  which  is  more  secular  in 
its  character,  it  is  very  certain  that  he  can  do  nothing 
well,  without  God  to  help  him.  If  the  ancients  needed 


340 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


the  aid  of  Apollo  and  the  muses,  it  would  be  a shame  to 
a Christian  poet  to  attempt  to  write  without  the  aid  of 
that  divine  inspiration  which  Christianity  teaches  him  to 
supplicate.  And,  accordingly,  Milton  was  unwilling  to 
proceed  in  his  great  work,  the  Paradise  Lost,  without 
first  invoking  the  divine  assistance : — 

“ And  chiefly  Thou,  O Spirit ! that  dost  prefer 
Before  all  temples  the  upright  heart  and  pure, 

Instruct  me,  for  Thou  knowest.” 

10.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  this  subject  has 
an  intimate  connection  with  the  establishment  of  institu- 
tions for  the  education  of  the  young.  It  is  a part  of  God’s 
plan  to  teach  man  by  the  aid  of  his  fellow-man,  and  to 
secure  his  cooperation  by  means  of  educational  institu- 
tions. And  looking  at  such  institutions  in  this  light, 
namely,  in  their  relation  to  God,  it  seems  to  us  that  the 
time  has  come  when  they  should  be  formed  upon  new 
principles,  — in  part  at  least.  Christians  will  not  do 
justice  to  themselves,  and  will  not  fully  unite  in  God’s 
designs  in  reference  to  man’s  redemption,  until  the 
learned  institutions  they  establish  and  support  shall 
combine  with  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect  the  higher 
and  nobler  object  of  the  restoration  of  the  heart  to  its 
Maker.  It  should  be  written  upon  the  walls  of  every 
seminary;  — Education  for  Truth,  for  Humanity,  for 
God. 

The  state  of  things  is  far  different  from  this.  If  we 
had  no  other  evidence  of  this  remark,  we  might  find  it 
in  one  fact  which  all  are  acquainted  with.  We  have 
reference  to  the  general  exclusion  of  the  Bible  from  the 
list  of  books  which  are  systematically  and  thoroughly 
studied.  If  the  Bible  were  estimated  by  its  literary 
merits  alone,  it  ought  not  to  be  condemned  to  such  an 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  341 

exclusion.  Considered  simply  as  documents,  which  throw 
light  upoi!.  the  origin  of  the  human  race  and  the  early 
history  of  mankind,  there  are  no  books  more  worthy  of 
being  studied  than  the  five  books  of  Moses  and  the  other 
historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  would  not 
easily  yield  to  others  in  our  admiration  of  the  writers  of 
Greece  and  Rome;  but,  looking  at  them  in  a merely 
literary  point  of  view,  we  find  the  poets  of  those  coun- 
tries excelled  by  the  Psalms  of  David  and  by  many  pas- 
sages of  the  prophets ; — and  probably  no  one  will  say, 
that  the  moral  doctrines  of  Socrates  and  Cicero,  eminent 
and  enlightened  men  as  they  were,  are  to  be  brought  into 
comparison  with  the  divine  teachings  of  the  Son  of  God. 
But  on  such  a subject  we  might  be  distrustful  of  our  own 
opinions,  were  it  not  that  they  are  in  harmony  with  sen- 
timents frequently  expressed  by  literary  men  of  so  much 
learning  and  eminence,  that  their  right  to  judge  in  such 
a matter  will  not  be  likely  to  be  questioned.  The  sub- 
ject, for  instance,  is  repeatedly  referred  to  in  the  writings 
of  Sir  William  Jones.  He  says,  on  one  occasion,  ‘H  have 
carefully  and  regularly  perused  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
am  of  opinion,  that,  independent  of  its  divine  origin,  the 
volume  contains  more  sublimity,  purer  morality,  more 
important  history,  and  finer  strains  of  eloquence,  than 
can  be  collected  from  any  other  book,  in  whatever  lan- 
guage it  may  have  been  written.’’ 

But  if  the  Scriptures  are  thus  valuable  in  a merely 
literary  point  of  view,  it  would  be  difficult  to  express 
their  importance,  considered  in  their  moral  and  religious 
relations.  It  is  in  this  view  that  they  present  claims, 
which  can  be  brought  forward  in  support  of  no  other 
system  and  no  other  book. 

11.  The  mere  study  of  the  Bible,  however,  is  not 
eno/igh.  There  are  institutions  at  the  present  day,  in 
29* 


342 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


which  the  Bible  is  carefully  studied ; — but  less  with  a 
reference  to  moral  than  intellectual  culture.  The  study 
o:  the  Bible  for  the  mere  purpose  of  increasing  our 
amount  of  knowledge,  is  not  all  that  is  needed.  It 
should  be  studied  with  a view  to  the  supply  of  our  moral 
and  religious  wants.  There  should,  therefore,  be  a dis- 
tinct recognition,  in  every  institution  of  learning,  of 
man^s  alienation  from  God,  and  of  the  necessity  of  his 
restoration.  Upon  these  two  great  subjects,  which  are 
vital  in  every  true  system  of  mental  culture,  all  possible 
light  should  be  thrown.  And  it  ought  to  be  understood 
that  no  person  is  to  be  regarded  as  thoroughly  educated, 
who  cannot  say  that  he  has  given  his  heart  to  God  at 
the  same  time  that  he  has  given  his  intellect  to  the  pur- 
suit of  the  truth. 

Nor  are  such  views  to  be  considered  as  impracticable. 
There  are  principles,  perhaps  not  yet  fully  ascertained, 
which  will  result,  (we  will  not  say  infallibly,  but  certainly 
as  a general  thing,)  in  spiritual  renovation.  And  it  seems 
to  be  a part  of  God’s  plan,  that  they  shall  be  applied  in 
connection  with  the  relationship  of  man  with  man,  and 
their  mutual  agency  one  upon  the  other.  In  all  institu- 
tions, therefore,  there  should  be  living  teachers,  men 
‘4ull  of  the  Holy  Ghost,”  who  should  be  able  to  explain 
and  apply  the  principles  which  are  found  in  the  Bible. 
If  such  institutions  could  take  the  place  of  many  which 
now  exist,  the  favorable  results  to  morals  and  religion 
would  be  immense. 

12.  In  early  life  I had  the  privilege  of  being  associated, 
for  a short  time,  in  an  institution,  where  it  seemed  to  me 
that  some  of  these  views  were  happily  illustrated.  The 
studies  always  opened  in  the  morning  and  closed  at  night 
with  religious  services.  The  first  half  hour  of  every 
mc^ining,  in  particular,  was  devoted  to  the  reading  of  the 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  343 

Scriptures,  the  explanatory  and  practical  remarks  of  the 
worthy  and  learned  instructor,  and  to  prayer.  And  it 
was  understood  by  all,  whatever  might  be  the  state  of 
their  own  minds,  that  this  religious  exercise  was  regarded 
by  the  teacher  as  one  of  preeminent  importance.  When 
he  came  before  his  pupils  on  this  occasion,  they  did  not 
doubt  that  he  had  first  commended  them  to  God  in  pri- 
vate ; and  that  of  all  objects  which  he  desired  and  had 
at  heart,  there  was  none  so  dear  to  him  as  their  souls’ 
salvation.  Every  movement  was  stilled ; — every  voice 
hushed ; — every  eye  fixed.  And  whatever  might  be 
their  creed  or  want  of  creed,  their  religious  adhesions 
or  aversions,  such  was  their  sympathy  with  his  obvious 
sense  of  responsibility  and  his  divine  sincerity,  that  even 
the  hearts  of  the  infidel  and  the  profane  were  cheerfully 
laid  open  before  him ; — so  that  with  their  own  consent 
he  was  enabled,  by  means  of  his  prayers  and  warnings, 
to  write  upon  them,  as  it  were,  inscriptions  for  immor- 
tality. I was  not  a pupil  in  the  seminary  to  which  I 
refer,  but  an  assistant  teacher ; and  had  a good  opportu- 
nity to  observe  and  to  judge.  My  own  heart  never  failed 
to  be  profoundly  afiected;  — and,  from  what  I have 
learned  and  known  of  his  pupils  since,  scattered  as  they 
have  been  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  engaged  in  vari- 
ous occupations,  I have  no  doubt  that  God  eminently 
blessed  the  faithful  labors  of  this  good  man,  and  that  he 
was  permitted  to  realize  in  his  instructions,  to  an  extent 
not  often  witnessed,  the  beautiful  union  of  the  culture 
of  the  heart  with  that  of  the  understanding. 

13.  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  redeem  man  to 
God  ; — in  other  words,  to  restore  him  to  God  by  redemp- 
tion ; — that  is  to  say,  by  the  purchase  of  his  own  blood. 
The  object  is  secured,  and  man  is  restored  to  God,  when- 
ever God  becomes  the  in-dwelling,  the  universal,  and 


344 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


permanent  principle  of  his  soul.  And  the  restoration  of 
man  involves  the  restoration  of  all  that  pertains  to  man. 
The  restoration  of  man  is,  at  the  same  time,  the  restora- 
tion of  the  family  and  of  civil  society ; the  restoration 
of  art  and  literature.  It  implies  the  extinction  of  vice, 
the  prevalence  of  virtue,  the  dignity  of  labor,  the  univer- 
sality of  education,  and  the  perfection  of  social  sympa- 
thy and  intercourse.  And  no  man  is,  or  can  be  redeemed, 
in  the  truer  and  higher  sense  of  the  terms,  without  being, 
in  his  appropriate  degree  and  place,  a co- worker  with 
God  in  all  these  respects. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  THE  NATURE  AND  PRACTICAL  EXTENT  OF  THE  POWER 
OF  LOVE. 

The  influence  of  love  ‘attractive  rather  than  aggressive.  — Argued, 
flrst,  from  the  fact  that  pure  love  has  an  innate  power  of  making 
itself  loved.  — Foundations  of  this  power,  namely,  in  its  truth  and 
beauty.  — Illustration  of  its  influence  from  the  influence  of  the  sun 
in  the  natural  world.  — The  man  of  love  is  a man  of  power. 

In  cooperating  with  our  heavenly  Father  in  the  great 
work  of  redemption,  it  is  an  interesting  inquiry,  what 
spirit,  what  form  of  feeling,  he  will  especially  lead  us  to 
exercise,  and  what  methods  of  action  and  effort  we  shall 
employ.  It  is  an  obvious  remark,  though  somewhat 
general  in  its  nature,  that  we  should  never  lose  our  sim- 
plicity of  heart; — but,  looking  to  God  with  a single 
eye,’’  should  receive  all  things  and  be  all  things  in  him 
alone.  Leaving  ourselves  in  the  hands  of  God  in  sim- 
plicity, that  we  may  thus  become  the  subjects  of  the 
divine  operation,  he,  more  or  less  gradually,  according  to 
his  infinite  wisdom,  infuses  into  the  soul  that  divine  ele- 
ment of  holy  love,  which  makes  it  like  himself.  God  is 
love.  The  feeling,  which  exists  in  those  who  cooperate 
with  him,  is  love.  And  when  the  world  becomes  holy  by 
being  the  subject  of  holy  love,  and  just  in  proportion  as 
it  becomes  so,  it  will  find  its  power  in  its  love.  And, 
accordingly,  its  influence  over  men  wixi  partake  of  the 


346 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


attractive  rather  than  the  aggressive  form.  This  is  an 
important  idea,  which  we  propose  to  illustrate. 

2.  In  support  of  the  view  which  has  just  been  pro- 
posed, we  proceed,  therefore,  to  say,  that  pure  or  unself- 
ish love  has  a power,  beyond  anything  else,  to  make 
itself  loved.  This  remarkable  power  is  as  permanent  as 
its  own  existence.  As  its  attributes  of  universality  and 
purity,  its  dispositions  to  love  all^  and  to  love  all  without 
selfishness^  are  essential  to  its  nature ; so,  also,  is  the 
attribute  of  its  influence,  that  secret  but  certain  power 
of  making  itself  beloved,  which  it  has  over  all  minds; 
It  is  not  a power,  therefore,  which  is  acquired,  but  inhe- 
rent ; not  incidental,  but  permanent ; exerting  its  author- 
ity by  virtue  of  its  own  right,  and  not  merely  as  the  gift 
of  favorable  circumstances. 

3.  Pure  love  necessarily  makes  itself  beloved,  because 
it  involves  in  its  own  nature  two  things,  which  have  a 
power  over  love,  namely,  Truth  and  Beauty. 

Pure  love  is  in  the  truth ; — that  is  to  say,  it  exists  in 
accordance  with  the  truth.  In  other  words,  it  has  a true 
or  right  foundation.  If  God  is  a true  or  right  being, 
then  pure  love,  which  constitutes  the  central  element  of 
his  character,  is  a right  or  true  affection.  Love,  which 
seeks  the  good  of  others  merely  because  it  delights  in 
goodness,  and  without  any  private  or  selfish  views,  is 
what  it  ought  to  be ; — and  it  cannot  be  otherwise  than 
it  is,  without  a violation  of  the  facts  and  order  of  the 
universe.  True  in  its  foundation,  and  true  in  all  the 
relations  it  sustains,  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  truth  to  God, 
truth  to  nature,  and  truth  to  humanity. 

4.  And  pure  love,  which  is  thus  inscribed  everywhere 
with  the  signatures  of  its  divine  verity,  is  as  beautiful 
as  it  is  true.  Beauty  is  the  daughter  of  truth.  When 
things  are  in  truth,  they  are  where  it  is  fitting  and  right, 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  347 

thattheyshould.be; — just  in  their  facts,  just  in  their 
relations,  just  in  their  influences  — and  such  things  cannot 
be  indifferent  to  us.  They  have  an  innate  power  which 
is  real,  though  not  always  explainable.  And  not  being 
indifferent,  but  having  a natural  power  to  excite  emo- 
tions, it  is  not  possible,  with  such  a foundation  and  such 
relations,  that  they  should  excite  any  emotions  but  those 
of  beauty.  We  regard  it,  therefore,  as  a fixed  and  per- 
manent law  of  nature,  that  the  true  and  the  beautiful 
have  an  eternal  relation.  It  is  impossible  to  separate 
them.  Wherever  the  truth  is,  standing  out  to  the  eye  in 
its  own  free  and  noble  lineaments,  there  is,  and  must  be, 
beauty. 

5.  With  such  elements  involved  in  its  very  existence, 
pure  or  holy  love  cannot  fail  to  make  itself  beloved. 
While  its  nature  is  to  go  out  of  itself  for  the  good  of 
others,  and  its  very  life  is  to  live  in  the  happiness  of 
others,  such  is  the  transcendent  truth  and  beauty  of  its 
divine  generosity,  that,  without  thinking  of  itself,  it 
makes  itself  the  centre  of  the  affections  of  others.  In 
its  gently  pervading  and  attractive  nature,  it  finds  the 
analogy  and  the  representation  of  its  influence  in  the 
natural  world.  The  sun,  as  the  v^entre  of  the  solar  sys- 
tem, binds  together  the  planets  which  revolve  around  it, 
because  it  has  something  in  itself,  which  may  be  said  to 
allure  and  attract  their  movements,  rather  than  compel 
it.  What  the  sun  is  to  the  natural  world,  pure  love  is  to 
the  moral  world.  It  not  only  has  life  in  itself,  which 
necessarily  sends  out  or  gives  love,  but  has  an  innate 
power  in  itself,  which  necessarily  attracts  love.  Recep- 
tive, at  the  same  time  that  it  is  emanative,  ’t  stands  as 
the  moral  centre,  which,  without  violating  their  freedom, 
turns  the  universe  of  hearts  to  itself. 

6.  The  man,  therefore,  who  is  inspi  ed  and  moved  by 


348 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


the  sentiments  of  pure  or  holy  love,  is  a man  of  power. 
The  maxim,  that  knowledge  is  power,  is  not  more  true 
than  the  proposition,  that  love  is  power.  Limited  in 
knowledge,  and  weak  perhaps  in  social  position,  the  man 
who  loves  is  powerful  by  character.  His  mere  opinions, 
divested  as  they  necessarily  are  of  the  perversions  of 
selfishness,  inspire  more  confidence  than  the  proofs  and 
arguments  of  other  men.  His  wish  becomes  a law,  and 
has  far  more  influence  with  those  around  him  than  the 
arts  and  compulsions,  which  a spirit  less  pure  and  gener- 
ous would  be  likely  to  apply.  Power  is  lodged  in  him, 
lives  in  him,  moves  in  him,  goes  out  from  him.  It  costs 
him  no  effort.  It  is  felt,  almost  without  being  exercised. 

When  he  is  smitten  he  turns  the  other  cheek,  and  like 
the  Saviour,  forgives  and  loves  his  enemies.  And,  in 
doing  so,  he  conquers  by  the  grandeur  of  his  sentiments. 
He  does,  good  from  the  impulse  of  good,  and  without 
asking  or  seeking  reward.  And,  in  doing  so,  he  places 
himself  above  the  common  level  of  humanity;  — disarms 
enmity,  commands  friendship,  controls  sensibility.  The 
world  stands  abashed  in  his  presence;  and  does  him 
homage.  He  realizes,  in  the  spiritual  sense  of  its  terms, 
which  is  far  more  important  than  the  temporal,  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  declaration  of  the  Saviour,  Give,  and  it 
shall  be  given  unto  you.  Good  measure,  pressed  down, 
and  shaken  together,  and  running  over,  shall  men  give 
into  your  bosom.” 

7.  It  may,  undoubtedly,  be  admitted,  that  those  who 
have  not  arrived  at  this  high  degree  and  purity  of  love, 
nevertheless  have  influence.  But  their  influence,  whether 
we  regard  it  as  more  or  less  considerable,  is  aggressive, 
rather  than  attractive.  It  compels,  rather  than  draws. 
By  arguments  in  support  of  revelation,  by  appeals  ad- 
dressed to  their  interest  and  fears,  by  social  and  pruden- 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  349 

tial  arrangements,  they  aim  to  bring  others  within  the 
currents  of  religion,  and  coerce  them,  as  it  were,  to  come 
in.  They  are  much  at  work,  developing  plans  and  pru- 
dences of  action,  mining  and  countermining  with  the 
highest  dexterity  of  moral  and  religious  strategy,  some- 
times with  considerable  effect,  and  sometimes,  like  the 
apostle  Peter  and  his  associates,  toiling  all  night  and 
catching  nothing. 

But  to  the  man  whose  heart  is  filled  with  divine  love, 
his  life  is  his  strategy ; his  heart  is  his  argument ; and 
the  Holy  Ghost  within  him  is  his  prudential  considera- 
tion. The  less  his  strategy,  and  the  more  his  simplicity, 
provided  his  simplicity  is  founded  on  purity  and  faith, 
the  greater  will  be  his  power.  He  can  no  more  separate 
power  from  himself,  or  himself  from  power,  than  he  car 
separate  himself  from  existence. 

8.  Love,  therefore,  is  the  principle  operating  by  its 
own  divinity,  and  attractive  in  its  infiuence  rather  than 
aggressive  and  compulsive^  which  is  destined  not  only  tc 
control,  but  to  renovate  the  world.  It  will  conquer,  it  is 
true,  on  a new  system,  and  by  means  of  new  principles ; 
but  its  conquest  will  be  none  the  less  effectual.  And  it 
is  in  such  doctrines  as  these,  which  imply  and  require 
the  renovation  of  the  heart  in  love,  that  the  Christian  is 
destined  to  find  the  true  and  mighty  secret  of  millennial 
power. 

9.  One  of  the  characteristics  of  holy  love,  in  its  devel- 
oped and  operative  forms  is,  that  it  naturally  and  neces- 
sarily adapts  itself  to  the  existing  state  of  things.  Feel- 
ingly alive  to  every  possible  variety  of  circumstance,  it 
assumes,  at  successive  times,  an  infinity  of  modifications^ 
without  failing,  under  any  of  them,  to  maintain  its  own 
simplicity  and  truth.  Its  own  nature,  which  harmonizes 
with  the  true  good  of  all  other  natures,  requires  this. 

30 


350 


UNION  -WITH  GOD. 


When  it  is  alone,  for  instance,  and  its  thoughts  are 
allowed  to  revert  to  God  in  distinction  from  the  creatures 
of  God,  sympathizing  with  the  divine  excellence  and 
blessedness,  it  naturally  takes  the  form  of  adoring  com- 
munion and  praise.  It  begins  to  sing.  “Bless  the  Lord,’’ 
it  says  with  the  Psalmist,  “Bless  the  Lord,  O my  soul, 
and  forget  not  all  his  benefits ! ” 

When  it  is  not  permitted  to  be  in  retirement,  but  is  in 
company  with  others,  it  takes  its  character  from  those 
with  whom  it  is.  In  the  good  and  proper  sense  of  the 
expressions,  “ it  becomes  all  things  to  all  men.”  If  they 
are  persecuted  and  in  prison,  if  they  are  sick,  or  blind, 
or  lame,  or  deprived  of  reason,  or  are  afllicted  in  any 
other  manner,  then  it  is  full  of  compassion.  It  feels  all 
their  sufferings.  It  sheds  sincere  tears.  It  binds  up  their 
wounds.  And  these  kind  acts,  which  are  not  more  full 
of  trutli  and  beauty  than  of  moral  power,  are  not  the 
results  of  artifice,  but  of  nature.  It  cannot  do  otherwise. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  those  with  whom  it  associates  at 
a given  time  are  in  health  and  in  joy,  it  naturally  re- 
joices in  their  joy,  just  as  in  the  other  case  it  has  sorrow 
in  their  sorrow.  Love,  in  the  form  of  benevolent  sym- 
pathy, is  the  just  reward  and  the  life  of  innocent  pleas- 
ure. It  may  be  said  to  double  the  happiness  of  every 
smile  by  the  reflection  of  sympathetic  happiness  from 
itself. 

10.  The  results  in  religious  things  are  analogous  to 
those  in  natural  things.  It  harmonizes  there  also,  in  a 
manner  appropriate  to  its  own  nature,  with  the  weak 
and  the  strong;  rejoicing  with  the  one,  and  rendering 
pity  and  aid  to  the  other.  If,  for  instance,  it  enters  the 
church  on  the  Sabbath,  and  hears  a man  proclaiming 
God’s  message  with  sincerity,  but  still  with  evidences  of 
want  of  intellectual  power,  it  does  not  turn  away  with 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  351 

scorn  or  coldness ; but  deeply  sympathizes  with  him,  and 
prays  the  more  earnestly  that  the  divine  power  may  be 
revealed  and  perfected  through  human  weakness.  Its 
course,  as  would  naturally  be  expected,  is  just  the  oppo- 
site of  that  of  selfishness.  Its  desire  is  not  to  please 
itself ; but,  in  its  sympathy  with  God  and  his  word,  to 
help  out,  as  it  were,  the  struggling  message. 

And  it  is  the  same  in  other  cases.  Everywhere,  freed 
as  it  is  from  the  restrictions  of  a low  and  selfish  spirit, 
it  is  seen  to  do  the  thing  which  is  appropriate  to  the  time 
and  place;  and  always  by  the  impulse  of  a spiritual 
nature,  and  never  by  human  artifice.  Accordingly,  if 
we  transfer  this  principle  of  holy  love  from  the  public 
assembly  in  the  church  to  the  smaller  assembly  of  the 
private  prayer-meeting,  the  same  results  are  witnessed. 
It  sees  those  assembled  together,  who,  it  is  obvious,  need 
to  be  conversed  with,  to  be  instructed,  to  be  encouraged. 
Being  always  in  sympathy  with  God,  and  knowing  that 
its  heavenly  Father  has  called  them  together  in  order 
that  they  might  be  assisted,  it  does  not  set  itself  aside 
and  wrap  itself  up  in  its  own  isolation ; but  feels  in  its 
own  nature  all  the  wants  of  those  around,  just  as  God 
does.  It  sees  God  in  everything.  It  is  God,  who  in  his 
providence  has  assembled  them  together.  It  is  God,  who 
has  placed  itself  in  communication  with  them,  and  has 
done  it  with  some  benevolent  object  appropriate  to  their 
situation.  It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  mighty  heart 
of  God  desires  their  restoration ; and  he,  who  is  united 
with  God  in  love,  desires  it  also.  And  such  is  the  sym- 
pathy between  his  state  of  mind  and  the  arrangement 
of  Providence,  that  his  thoughi^s  and  feelings  and  words 
may  justly  be  expected  to  be  in  precise  accordance  with 
the  occasion.  And  this  feeling  of  benevolent  sympathy, 
(such  are  the  reciprocal  influences  of  mind  upon  mind,) 


352 


tJNION  WITH  GOD. 


will  necessarily  be  known,  and  felt,  and  appreciated,  by 
those  with  whom  he  sympathizes. 

11.  Certainly  it  is  not  surprising  that  love,  operating 
without  cessation  in  this  divine  manner,  should  have 
power.  Powerful  in  its  truth  and  powerful  in  its  beauty, 
it  acquires  additional  power  by  its  mode  of  operation. 
Even,  therefore,  when  it  is  estimated  on  natural  princi- 
ples, and  with  reference  to  its  own  laws  of  influence,  we 
cannot  doubt  its  mighty  efficiency;  — an  efficiency,  which 
is  more  than  equal  to  all  possible  difficulties,  when  it  is 
attended,  as  it  cannot  fail  to  be,  with  the  divine  presence 
and  favor. 

If  these  remarks  are  correct,  then  it  may  be  added, 
that  the  holy  man  has  power  with  his  fellow-men,  on  the 
same  general  principles  and  much  in  the  same  way,  as 
Christ  had  when  here  on  earth.  Christ,  considered  in 
his  human  nature,  may  truly  be  described  as  a man. 
And  like  other  holy  men,  he  was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
— but  the  divine  power  which  was  in  him  showed  itself 
to  others  chiefly  through  the  medium  of  a holy  sympa- 
thy. There  is,  perhaps,  no  trait  of  his  character  more 
remarkable  than  this.  It  was  sympathy*  which  brought 
the  Saviour  down  from  heaven  to  earth ; it  was  sym- 
pathy which,  in  early  times,  carried  apostles  and  martyrs 
to  the  stake ; and  it  is  sympathy,  like  that  of  the  Sav- 
iour, which,  at  the  present  day,  conducts  his  followers  to 
the  dwellings  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  ignorant; 
which  secures  their  presence  and  supplications  in  the 
church  and  the  prayer-meeting;  which  inspires  their 
self-denying  labors  for  the  prisoner  and  the  criminal; 
and  which  separates  them  from  the  endearments  of  home, 
and  sends  them  to  the  toils,  the  sufferings,  and  the  death 
cf  heathen  lands. 

12.  What  is  here  said  of  sympathy  is,  at  the  same 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  353 

time,  said  of  love.  They  are  two  names  for  one  princi- 
ple. Sympathy  is  only  another  name  for  love,  when  it 
is  exercised  in  such  a way  as  to  harmonize,  in  the  most 
beneficial  manner,  with  the  wants  and  the  situation  of 
others.  We  repeat,  therefore,  that  a principle  so  divine 
as  this  must  ultimately  renovate  and  control  the  world. 
And  it  will  do  it  in  the  manner  which  has  already  been 
mentioned,  namely,  by  its  attractive  rather  than  its 
aggressive  influence.  Reaching  in  every  direction,  and 
attracting  the  attention  of  all  men  by  its  innate  loveli- 
ness, it  draws  them  gently  but  surely  to  itself.  It  pre- 
vails by  means  of  its  truth  and  beauty,  and  not  less  by 
that  gentle  touch  of  fellow-feeling,  with  v/hich-  it  weeps 
with  every  tear,  and  smiles  upon  every  smile. 

And  one  of  its  crowning  glories  is  this.  It  conquers 
without  knowing  how  or  why  it  conquers ; — the  mighty 
power  which  is  in  it  being  hidden  in  its  own  simplicity 
of  spirit. 


30=^ 


CHAPTER  X, 


PRINC’PLO  AND  EXPLANATIONS  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  PRACTICAL 
HOLINESS. 

Definition  of  holiness.  — Reference  to  the  Hebrew  and  English  terms. 
— Of  wholeness  or  completeness  in  God.  — Practical  or  experiment- 
al holiness  implies  the  fulness  of  the  divinfe  life  in  the  soul.  — It  is 
by  means  of  God  in  the  soul  that  the  definition  of  holiness  is  real- 
ized. — Principles  involved  in  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul,  namely, 
entire  consecration,  appropriating  faith,  and  living  by  the  moment. 

In  connection  with  the  views,  which  have  hitherto 
been  presented  in  this  work,  we  are  aided,  I think,  in 
obtaining  some  new  and  important  ideas  in  relation  to 
practical  holiness.  Holiness  is  oftep  defined  (and,  per- 
haps, more  generally  than  in  any  other  way)  to  be 
conformity  to  God’s  law; — including  conformity  of  the 
heart  or  feelings,  as  well  as  of  the  outward  action.  To 
this  definition,  or  to  others  stated  with  the  same  import, 
though,  perhaps,  with  ^ some  variation  of  terms,  we  do 
not  propose  to  object.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
give  a better  one. 

2.  There  is  a great  difference,  however,  between  holi- 
ness defined  and  holiness  practised;  between  holiness, 
abstractly  considered,  and  holiness  in  realization.  If, 
therefore,  it  may  be  important  to  know  in  what  holiness 
consists  by  definition,  it  is  certainly  not  less  so  to  know 
who  is  the  actual  possessor  of  it.  The  Hebrew  word, 
which  is  translated  holiness,  involves,  as  one  of  its  ele- 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  355 


mentSj  the  idai  of  being  set  apart  to  a sacred  or  religious 
purpose.  The  English  term  holiness,  in  its  original  im- 
port, means  lohole-ness^  completeness.  And  this  idea, 
when  the  subject  is  contemplated  in  a practical  point  of 
view,  ought  not  to  be"  lost  sight  of.  Accordingly,  pre- 
senting the  matter  in  a little  different  light  from  that  in 
which  it  is  usually  presented,  it  would  not  be  improper 
to  say,  that  the  holy  man  is  one  who  is  lohole  or  complete 
in  God.  If  every  part  of  the  life  of  the  creature  is  filled 
up  and  completed  with  the  life  of  God,  then  he  is  a whole 
or  holy  man,  and  not  otherwise.  A holy  man,  therefore, 
is  one  who  freely  surrenders  himself  to  God,  that  he  may 
receive  everything  from  God  in  return ; — so  that,  by 
means  of  a divine  life,  operating  as  a central  principle  at 
the  seat  or  heart  of  his  own  nature,  he  is  brought  into 
entire  harmony  with  God,  and  fully  represents  the  divine 
conception  or  idea  in  faith,  in  knowledge,  in  love,  in  will, 
in  harmonizing  with  providence,  in  everything.  Holi- 
ness, therefore,  considered  practically,  is  the  perfect 
restoration  of  the  divine  life  in  the  soul. 

3.  In  making  these  statements  we  are  not  to  forget, 
(and  we  are  the  more  solicitous  that  we  should  not  for- 
get it,  because  great  truths  sometimes  lie  in  the  close 
vicinity  of  great  errors,)  that  man  is  a moral  being 
endued  with  the  power  of  free  choice ; and  that  the 
divine  presence  cannot  exist  in  him,  as  a principle  of  hfe, 
except  with  his  own  consent.  Moral  life  is  a difiorent 
thing  from  mere  physical  or  instinctive  life.  Thert.  is  a 
sense  in  which  God  is  the  life  of  everything.  He  is  the 
life  of  the  earth,  the  sky,  the  waters.  He  is  the  living 
principle  of  whatever  the  earth  produces, — of  the  leaf,  the 
flower,  the  plant,  the  tree.  He  is  the  life  also,  by  means 
of  their  various  and  wonderful  instincts,  of  all  lower 
animals.  But  he  is  their  life,  in  some  cases,  without 


356 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


their  knowing  it  at  all,  because  they  are  not  percipient 
existences ; and  in  other  cases,  without  their  exhibiting 
any  distinct  recognition  and  knowledge,  if  it  is  possible 
that  they  have  it.  But  it  is  not  so  with  moral  beings. 
God  is  and  can  be  the  life  of  such  beings,  only  so  far  as 
he  is  so  with  their  own  consent.  In  the  words  of  a 
modern  English  poet, 

“ Our  wills  are  ours  ; we  know  not  how ; 

Our  wills  are  ours,  to  make  them  ihine.'*^  * 

So  that  it  is  not  more  necessary  that  God  should  be  our 
life,  than  it  is  that  we  should  choose  him  to  be  so.  If  it 
be  true  that  we  cannot  live  without  the  life  of  God  in 
the  soul,  it  is  also  true  that  we  cannot  have  that  life 
without  our  own  choice.  And  the  reason  is,  that  the 
principles  of  moral  government,  as  it  exists  among  beings 
who  are  subject  to  the  supremacy  of  a divine  govern- 
ment, require,  without  the  exclusion  of  either,  that  there 
should  be  an  harmonious  action  and  union  of  the  two  in 
one.  When  God  works  within  us  with  our  own  consen 
and  in  answer  to  our  own  prayer,  then  the  l:qiman  ana 
divine  may  be  said  to  be  reconciled,  because  the  work  of 
God,  by  the  harmonious  adjustment  of  the  two,  becomes 
both  the  work  of  God  and  the  work  of  the  creature.  So 
that  it  is  true,  in  all  cases  of  holiness  actually  experienced, 
that  the  man  lives  and  has  a true  life ; while  it  is  also 
true,  and  in  a still  higher  sense,  that  God  lives  in  him. 

4.  The  consent  or  choice,  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  may  not  always  be  formally  or  expressly 
given;  but  it  always  exists  as  an  element  of  the 
inward  nature.  And,  accordingly,  the  alienation  or  loss 
of  life  depends  upon  the  alienation  or  withdrawal  of 
<?onsent.  The  beings  who  inhabit  other  worlds,  so  far 


* Tennyson. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  357 

as  they  remain  holy  beings,  have  never  withdrawn  their 
consent,  and,  consequently,  have  never  fallen.  Nothing 
could  be  so  unpleasant  to  them  as  to  be  left  to  themselves. 
Accordingly,  the  desire  to  dethrone  and  alienate  the  great 
central  principle  has  never  entered  their  minds.  It  was 
otherwise  with  man.  He  chose  to  separate  himself  from 
God  by  trusting  to  his  own  wisdom,  and  yielding  him- 
self to  his  own  desires.  He  thus  lost  the  true  life.  And 
as  there  is  and  can  be  but  one  true  life,  he  necessarily 
died.  He  lives,  it  is  true ; but  it  is  a dead  li|p.  He  lives 
physically,  but  is  dead  morally ; he  lives  in  the  form, 
Uut  is  dead  in  the  spirit.  Death  is  his  truth,  and  life  is 
his  fiction.  So  that,  though  both  are  true  in  a certain 
sense,  it  is  the  greater  truth  to  say  that  he  is  dead, 

5.  Returning,  therefore,  to  the  leading  idea  involved 
in  these  remarks,  we  proceed  to  say,  that  man  is  restored 
from  death  just  in  proportion  as  he  begins  to  live  in  and 
from  God.  And  when,  by  exercising  that  consent  which 
God  allows  him,  he  lives  wholly  from  God  by  choosing 
to  live  wholly  from  him,  and  by  exercising  faith  to  that 
effect,  then  he  is  a whole  or  holy  man.  Taking  the 
common  definition,  that  holiness  is  entire  conformity  to 
God’s  law,  still  it  is  not  the  definition  which  makes  a 
man  holy,  but  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul.  It  is  God 
within,  that  makes  the  definition  available.  Who  prop- 
erly understands  God’s  law  and  knows  what  it  is,  unless 
he  is  first  taught  of  God?  Who  loves  God’s  law,  unless 
love  is  first  inspired  within  him  by  the  breath  of  God 
himself?  Who  obeys  God’s  law  by  bringing  his  will 
into  conformity  with  it,  except  by  the  constant  aids  of 
divine  grace? 

Let  it  ever  be  remembered  that  there  is  only  one  that 
is  holy  i i the  higher  and  original  sense.  And  that  is  God. 
A.11  othe  beings,  whatever  position  they  may  sustain  in 


358 


UNION  TVITH  GOD. 


the  universe,  a,re  holy  only  as  they  are  holy  in  and  by 
him.  If  there  is  anything  at  variance  with  the  Scrip- 
tures, unsound  in  philosophy,  and  pernicious  in  practice, 
it  is  the  idea  of  right  or  holy  living  from  one’s  self;  — 
that  is  to  say,  by  means  of  the  elements  of  strength  and 
of  guidance  which  he  has  in  himself.  It  is  no  more  phi- 
losophical than  the  doctrine  of  effect  without  a cause. 
Sooner  shall  the  flower  grow  without  the  earth  and  rains 
to  nourish  it,  or  the  mighty  oak  spring  from  the  surface 
of  the  barren  rock,  than  the  soul  of  man  live  without 
having  its  roots  struck,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Infinite;  and  deriving,  not  a partnership 
of  nourishment,  but  the  whole  of  its  nourishment  from 
God. 

6.  These  views  go  to  confirm  some  of  the  principles 
laid  down  from  time  to  time  by  writers,  whose  object  it 
is  to  describe  and  to  inculcate  the  higher  states  of  reli- 
gious experience.  Among  other  principles,  to  which  I 
have  reference  in  this  remark,  are  these : — personal  and 
entire  consecration;  unwavering  faith  in  God’s  accept- 
ance of  the  consecration  when  it  is  once  made;  and 
that  practical  conformity  of  heart  and  life  to  God’s  provi- 
dences, which  is  termed  living  by  the  moment.  And  it 
seems  to  me  that  this  is  a proper  place  briefly  to  call 
attention  to  these  principles. 

7.  And  our  first  remark,  in  relation  to  the  principle  of 
entire  consecration,  is,  that  no  man  can  experience  th^ 
highest  results  of  religion,  and  become  a truly  holy  man, 
unless  he  has  thus  consecrated  himself  to  God.  We  do 
not  suppose,  however,  that  this,  although  it  is  indispensa- 
ble in  the  growth  of  religion  in  the  soul,  is  ordinarily  the 
first  thing  that  takes  place.  Before  a man  can  conse- 
crate himself  to  God,  he  must  be  led  to  see  that  he  is 
aheiiated  from  God.  Conviction  of  sin,  therefore,  would 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  359 


naturally  be  the  first  thing.  He  could  hardly  be  expect- 
ed to  return,  until  he  had  first  been  made  sensible  of  his 
departure.  But  when  this  has  been  done,  when  he  has 
been  made  in  some  degree  to  see  and  feel  his  situation, 
and  to  apply  to  Christ  for  relief,  he  may  reasonably  be 
expected,  in  his  new  position  and  in  the  exercise  of  a 
new  faith,  to  lay  himself,  as  it  is  sometimes  expressed, 
upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice.’’  And  in  doing  this,  he 
alters  his  whole  position.  Dissatisfied  with  his  past  ex- 
perience, he  now  ceases  to  look  to  himself,  and  to  repose 
confidence  in  himself.  In  his  blindness,  of  which  he 
now  for  the  first  time  has  a proper  conception,  although 
he  knew  something  of  it  before,  he  looks  to  another  and 
higher  source  for  light.  In  his  weakness,  which  he  finds 
after  a greater  or  less  experience  to  be  universal  and 
total,  he  looks  somewhere  else  for  strength.  And  this 
disposition  to  renounce  himself,  and  to  place  himself  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  God  for  strength  and  wisdom  and 
whatever  else  is  necessary  for  him,  is  what  is  generally 
understood  to  be  meant  by  consecration. 

But  consecration,  even  when  realized  in  the  highest 
sense,  is  not  enough.  And,  indeed,  standing  alone,  and 
without  the  aid  of  other  principles  and  feelings,  it  seems 
to  be  wholly  unavailable. 

8.  And,  accordingly,  another  principle,  involved  in 
the  full  or  perfect  return  of  the  soul  to  God,  is  the  neces- 
sity of  appropriating  faith  ; — that  is  to  say,  faith,  that 
he  who  exercises  it,  is  himself  received  of  God,  and  that 
God  will  do  in  him  and  for  him  all  that  he  has  promised 
to  do.  To  give  ourselves  to  God,  in  order  that  we  may 
receive  him  as  our  life,  and  at  the  same  time  not  to 
believe  in  him  as  actually  becoming  our  life  in  accord- 
ance with  his  promise,  is  virtually  to  annul  our  consecra- 
tion, because  it  is  impossible  for  us  sincerely  to  consecrate 


360 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


ourselves  to  a being,  in  whom  we  have  not  perfect  confi ' 
dence  that  he  will  do  what  he  has  promised  to  do.  So 
that  faith,  as  we  have  now  explained  the  term,  is  as 
necessary  as  consecration. 

9.  When  we  have  thus  fully  consecrated  ourselves  to 
God,  and  have  faith  in  him,  that  he  does  now  receive  us, 
then  the  true  life,  which  before  was  greatly  obstructed 
in  consequence  of  the  consecration  being  imperfect  or 
partial,  flows  from  God  into  the  soul  with  greatly  in- 
creased freeness.  The  divine  fountain  is  not  only 
opened,  but  the  obstructions,  which  had  previously  ex- 
isted in  the  recipient,  are  removed ; so  that  the  elements 
of  life  are  not  only  offered  but  received ; and  they  grad- 
ually extend,  and  perhaps  very  soon,  to  every  part  of 
the  soul.  We  now  live  with  a true  life;  but  it  remains 
to  be  said,  that  we  live  and  can  live  only  hy  the  moment. 

As  soon  as  God,  by  his  in-dwelling  presence,  becomes 
the  inspiration  and  life  of  the  soul,  he  inspires  in  it  those 
thoughts  and  feelings,  and  those  only,  which  are  appro- 
priate to  the  present  time.  To  every  moment  of  time 
there  is  but  one  mental  state  which  is  suited.  Between 
the  circumstances  of  the  time  and  the  correspondent 
attributes  of  the  mental  state  there  is,  and  necessarily 
must  be,  a relationship  as  wise  as  infinite  wisdom,  and 
as  perfect  as  infinite  adjustment.  God  himself  cannot 
alter  it,  because  he  cannot  deviate  from  the  perfect  to  the 
imperfect.  God,  therefore,  as  the  infinite  giver,  (that  is 
to  say,  when  he  is  allowed  to  be  and  is  accepted  as  the 
infinite  giver,)  can  give  only  what  he  does  give ; and  can 
give  it  only  at  the  present  time.  The  life,  therefore, 
which  we  live  in  God,  is  and  can  be  only  life  by  the 
moment.  The  stream  flows  forever,  but  it  strikes  upon 
the  soul  only  at  the  given  time. 

10.  The  man  who  thus  consecrates  himself  to  God, 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  361 

and,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  puts  himself  in  the  line  of 
divine  communication,  so  that  he  receives  from  God  his 
knowledge,  his  feeling,  and  his  purpose,  is  the  truly  holy 
man,  because  he  is  the  whole  man. 


OH  SACRED  UNION  WITH  THE  PERFECT  MIND. 
Oh  sacred  union  with  the  perfect  mind ! 

Transcendent  bliss,  which  Thou  alone  canst  give ! 
How  blest  are  they,  this  pearl  of  price  who  find, 

And,  dead  to  earth,  have  learnt  in  Thee  to  live ! 

Thus,  in  thine  arms  of  love,  0 God,  lie  ! 

Lost,  and  forever  lost,  to  all  but  Thte. 

My  happy  soul,  since  it  hath  learnt  to  die, 

Hath  found  new  life  in  thine  Infinity. 

O,  go,  and  learn  this  lesson  of  the  cross ! 

And  tread  the  way  which  saints  and  prophets  trod " 
Who,  counting  life,  and  self,  and  all  things  loss. 

Have  found  in  inward  death  the  life  of  God. 

31 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ON  UNION  WITH  GOD  IN  THE  SPIRIT  OF  PRAYER- 

God,  in  doing  his  own  work,  accepts  of  man’s  a^'ency.  — Remarks  on 
the  operations  of  the  Divine  mind.  — Illustrations  of  the  subject.  — 
Souls  in  union  with  God  harmonize  with  the  Divine  mind  in  its  in- 
ward experiences.  — God’s  desires  and  purposes  made  known,  in 
some  degree,  in  the  experiences  of  his  people.  — Of  the  power  of  a 
good  man’s  prayer. 

The  work  of  redemption,  in  all  the  various  forms  in 
which  it  is  carried  on,  is  truly  and  emphatically  God’s 
work.  But  it  is  worthy  of  grateful  notice,  that  our 
Heavenly  Father,  in  doing  his  own  work,  condescends  to 
accept  of  human  agency.  Placing  the  Infinite  in  alli- 
ance with  the  finite,  he  allows  man  to  be  a co-worker 
with  himself.  And  one  of  man’s  great  works,  that  work 
without  which  nothing  else  is  available,  is  prayer. 

But,  in  saying  this,  it  should  be  added,  that  we  use  the 
term  prayer,  not  in  the  restricted  sense  of  particular  or 
specific  supplication,  but  in  the  more  general  sense  ia 
which  it  is  sometimes  employed,  namely,  as  expressive 
of  communion  with  God  in  all  its  forms. 

2.  In  order  to  illustrate  properly  the  subject  of  union 
with  God  in  prayer,  it  is  necessary  to  lay  down  some 
principles  in  relation  to  Divine  experience,  as  it  may, 
perhaps,  be  termed ; — that  is  to  say,  in  relation  to  the 
feelings  experienced  in  the  mind  of  God.  It  is  some- 
'imes  said  of  God,  that,  being  infinite  and  perfect,  he  is 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  363 

beyond  the  reach  of  emotionality ; in  other  words,  is  an 

impassive^^  existence,  a being  without  feeling.  The 
truth  seems  to  us  to  be  directly  the  opposite.  God,  so 
far  from  being  the  negation,  is  the  perfection  of  feeling ; 
that  is  to  say,  he  feels,  and  cannot  help  feeling,  just  as 
he  ought  to  feel,  on  all  possible  occasions. 

3.  This  remark  we  proceed  now  to  illustrate  in  some 
particulars.  And,  accordingly,  it  may  be  said,  in  the 
first  place,  that  God,  instead  of  being  impassive  and 
without  sensibility,  is  a being  of  desires  and  aversions. 
Can  it  be  supposed,  for  instance,  that  any  good  takes 
place  in  the  universe,  without  God’s  desiring  it  to  take 
place?  And  if  such  a supposition  is  impossible,  it  is 
equally  so  that  any  evil  can  take  place  without  causing 
in  him  feelings  of  dissatisfaction  and  aversion.  And 
this  is  not  all.  He  not  only  desires  good  to  take  place, 
but  he  rejoices  in  it,  when  it  has  taken  place.  And  he 
cannot  do  otherwise.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  he  not 
only  disapproves  of  wrong-doing,  and  desires  that  it  may 
not  take  place,  but  it  cannot  take  place  without  exciting 
grief  in  him. 

It  is  a great  and  affecting  truth,  that  the  infinite  God, 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  terms,  is  grieved  with  sinners. 
To  be  indifferent  to  sin  in  any  of  its  forms  or  degrees, 
which  is  the  same  thing  as  being  “ impassive  ” in  view 
of  sin,  is  not  in  his  nature.  Such  a supposition,  namely, 
the  sight  of  sin  without  experiencing  any  emotions, 
would  imply,  at  least,  a great  imperfection  of  character. 
And  if  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  be  indifferent  to  sin,  it 
is  certainly  impossible  for  him  to  be  pleased  with  it.  To- 
be  grieved  with  sin,  therefore,  to  be  grieved  with  an 
infinite  grief,  is  the  necessary  result  of  the  infinity  and 
perfection  of  his  nature. 

4.  And  it  is  the  same  with  other  feelings.  It  is  prob^ 


364 


■JNION  WITH  GOD. 


ably  not  necessa  :y  to  go  through  with  them  in  detail. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  God  has,  and  necessarily  must 
have,  all  those  feelings  which  are  appropriate  to  a per- 
fectly wise,  benevolent,  and  holy  being.  They  corre- 
spond to  things  as  they  take  place;  and  they  vary 
exactly  with  the  changing  incidents  of  those  things; 
every  shade  of  alteration  in  the  facts  causing  a shade  of 
alteration  in  the  corresponding  feelings.  So  that  it  is 
true  of  the  divine  mind,  that  it  is  constantly  in  motion 
and  constantly  at  rest  at  the  same  time ; — the  rest,  or 
rather  the  perfect  tranquillity,  being  the  result  of  the  per- 
fection of  its  movement.  It  is  not  the  rest  of  inaction, 
but  of  perfect  adjustment ; not  the  rest  of  impassive 
stagnation,  but  of  emotional  ana  moral  harmony. 

5.  We  proceed  now  to  state,  in  connection  with  these 
brief  explanations,  that  the  soul,  which  is  fully  in  the 
experience  of  divine  union,  will  harmonize  perfectly  with 
the  emotions  and  desires  of  the  divine  mind.  If,  for 
instance,  there  are  soon  to  be  especial  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  if  souls  are  to  be  enlightened  and 
restored  to  God,  the  preparations  for  such  events  will 
always  exist  first  in  the  mind  of  God  himself.  It  is  not 
possible  that  such  things  should  exist  accidentally. 
They  are  the  developments,  coming  in  their  appropriate 
order  and  under  appropriate  circumstances,  of  the  divine 
thought,  of  the  divine  feeling.  But  if  it  be  true  that  the 
heavings  of  the  billows,  whether  gently  or  more  power- 
fully, will  first  show  themselves  in  the  great  ocean  of 
thought  and  feeling,  it  will  also  be  true  that  they  will 
excite  a correspondent  movement  in  all  smaller  streams 
and  fountains  w^iich  are  in  alliance  with  them.  In  other 
words,  God,  in  all  good  works,  moves  first;  and  the 
minds  of  his  people,  (all  thoce  who  come  within  the  par- 
ticular sphere  of  movement,)  move  in  harmony  with  him. 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  365 

If  God  desires  a particular  thing  to  take  place  within 
their  particular  sphere  of  feeling  and  action,  the  desire 
of  the  Infinite  mind  sympathetically  takes  shape  and 
develops  itself  in  the  finite  mind;  and  the  unspoken 
desire  of  the  Father  shows  itself  in  the  uttered  prayer 
of  the  children.  As  in  nature  a small  moaning  sound 
of  the  winds  often  precedes  a wide  and  powerful  move- 
ment, so  the  sighing  in  the  bosoms  of  the  finite  denotes 
an  approaching  movement  of  far  greater  power  in  the 
Infinite. 

6.  In  connection  with  these  views  we  have  one  of  the 
methods  given  us,  by  which  we  discover  the  particular 
thing  or  purpose  which  now  exists  in  the  mind  of  God. 
It  is  obviously  the  dictate  of  the  common  sense  of  man- 
kind, that  the  fact  of  unity  of  spirit  implies  and  involves 
the  fact  of  unity  of  movement.  All  those  who  are 

born  of  God,’’  in  the  higher  sense  of  the  expressions, 
(for  instance,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  expressions  are 
used  in  St.  John’s  epistles,)  are  in  unity  with  him,  whose 
spiritual  birth  is  within  them.  It  is  not  more  true  that 
God  is  their  Father,  than  it  is  that  they  are  God’s  chil- 
dren. They  are  one ; — as  the  planets  are  one  with  the 
sun,  as  the  billow  is  one  with  the  ocean,  as  the  branch  is 
one  with  the  vine,  as  the  son  is  one  with  the  father. 
And,  in  the  existence  of  such  union,  there  cannot,  as  a 
general  thing,  be  a feeling  or  purpose  in  one  party,  with- 
out the  existence  of  a correspondent  feeling  and  purpose 
in  the  other.  There  are  some  limitations  and  exceptions 
undoubtedly ; but,  as  a general  thing,  when  we  know  the 
thoughts  of  God’s  true  people,  we  know  God’s  thoughts; 
when  we  know  what  God’s  true  people  desire,  we  know 
what  God  desires ; when  we  know  what  the  people  of 
God  are  determined  to  do,  we  know  what  God  is  deter- 
mined to  do. 


31^ 


366 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


7.  And  another  remark,  following  from  what  has  been 
said  is  this : Whenever  thou  hearest  God’s  people  pray- 
ing, perhaps  in  yonder  little  prayer-meeting,  perhaps  in 
some  solitary  place  in  the  wilderness,  perhaps  in  the 
desolate  and  lonely  room  of  some  poor  widow,  then  know 
that  the  day  of  divine  majiifestation  is  near  at  hand. 
We  cannot  tell,  perhaps,  in  what  direction  or  in  what 
way  the  manifestation  of  God’s  presence  is  to  be  made; 
but  we  cannot  doubt  the  general  fact  that  it  is  approach- 
ing. 

All  persons  whose  fulness  of  faith  has  brought  them 
into  the  state  of  union  with  God,  know  this  to  be  the 
case.  They  know  (without  knowing  how  they  know 
it)  that  the  movement  of  desire  in  their  own  souls,  aris- 
ing sometimes  under  remarkable  circumstances  and  in 
a remarkable  way,  is  the  continuation,  the  distant  but 
affiliated  throbbing,  of  the  great  heart  of  the  universe. 
And  with  such  a conviction  existing  in  their  minds,  it 
obviously  becomes  easy,  and,  perhaps  we  may  say,  neces- 
sary for  them,  to  exercise  that  particular  form  of  faith 
which  is  appropriate  to  their  state  of  desire.  Having, 
therefore,  a desire  for  a particular  thing,  and  believing 
that  this  desire  is  only  the  vibration  from  the  great  cen- 
tre, the  finite  repetition  of  the  infinite  desire,  they  cannot 
doubt  that  there  will  be  a manifestation  of  God,  corre- 
spondent to  that  form  of  inward  feeling  which  exists  in 
him  as  well  as  in  themselves. 

8.  If  what  has  been  said  is  correct,  then  it  may  prop- 
erly be  added,  that  there  is  something  not  only  impres- 
sive but  sublime,  and  almost  terrible,  in  a holy  man’s 
prayer ; whether  it  take  the  form  of  supplication,  or 
of  blessing,  or  of  praise.  That  praying  voice  which 
thou  hearest,  broken  though  it  may  be  with  weakness 
and  trembling  with  age,  is  not  more  the  voice  of  man 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION,  367 


than  of  God.  Oh,  do  not  trifle  with  it,  if  thou  wouldst 
not  trifle  with  God  himself!  Uttered  in  these  last  days, 
it  is  nevertheless  true,  that,  in  its  attributes  of  origin  and 
power,  it  is  the  voice  of  Abraham,  of  Moses,  of  Daniel ; 
— men  who  had  power  with  God,  because  God  had 
power  with  them.  It  is  the  chain  of  communication 
between  two  worlds;  the  circumference,  showing  the 
light  and  heat  of  the  centre.  It  brings  down  the  sun- 
light of  God’s  favor,  or  the  lightning  of  his  displeasure. 
If  it  curses  thee,  then  thou  art  cursed ; if  it  blesses  thee, 
then  thou  art  blessed.  If  it  expresses  itself  in  pity,  then 
the  tear  of  compassion  is  falling  upon  thee  from  the 
omi  keient  eye.  Listen  reverently,  therefore,  to  the 
gooc  nan’s  prayer.  God  is  in  it. 


•CHAPTER  XII. 

ON  THE  RELATION  OF  THE  CHARACTER  OF  MAN  TO  THE 
HAPPINESS  OF  GOD. 

Holy  beings  constitute  one  of  the  elements  of  divine  happiness.  — God 
rejoices  in  his  own  nature ; especially  in  the  principle  of  holy  love. 
— The  joy  thus  arising  is  not  so  much  by  means  of  a reflex  act,  as 
by  direct  consciousness.  — A second  ^source  of  joy  found  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  happiness  and  holiness  of  his  creatures  — 
Remarks. 

God  is  happy.  Being  infinite,  he  is  infinitely  happy. 
And  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  holy  beings,  in  what- 
ever parts  of  the  universe  they  exist,  constitute  one  of 
the  elements  of  the  divine  happiness.  This  being  the 
case,  there  is  such  a thing  (and  it  is  certainly  a most 
interesting  and  important  consideration)  as  being  united 
with  God  in  the  promotion  of  his  own  happiness.  The 
humblest  soul,  when  purified  by  divine  grace,  becomes  a 
gem  in  the  crown  of  the  Infinite  Father’s  bliss. 

2.  Undoubtedly  the  elements  of  the  divine  happiness 
are  various.  God,  for  instance,  is  happy  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  own  perfections ; and  especially  is  he  hap- 
py in  the  consciousness  that  the  central  principle  or 
life  of  his  nature,  that  which  brings  the  infinity  of  his 
natural  attributes  into  action,  is  holy  love.  Most  readily 
do  we  admit  that  he  rejoices  in  his  natural  attributes 
also,  in  his  inherent  and  universal  knowledge,  in  his 
omnipresence  and  omnipotence  j but  more  than  all  and 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  369 

above  all  does  he  rejoice  in  that  living  and  life-giving 
principle,  which  saves  his  merely  natural  attributes  from 
evil  applications,  and  renders  them  available  to  the  high- 
est purposes. 

3.  And  the  exceeding  happiness  which  God  thus  ex- 
periences is  not  the  result  exclusively,  nor  chiefly,  of  a 
reflex  act.  Some  writers  seem  to  suppose  (at  least  such 
would  be  the  interpretation  of  their  language  if  taken  in 
its  natural  and  obvious  import)  that  God  sits  alone  in 
an  infinite  solitude,  and  is  happy  chiefly  by  means  of 
such  an  act ; that  is  to  say,  by  means  of  the  mind  turned 
back  in  acts  of  contemplation  on  its  own  inward  nature. 
It  seems  to  us  better,  and  more  in  accordance  with  the 
divine  nature,  to  say  that  God  is  happy,  not  so  much  by 
a series  of  reflective  and  deductive  acts,  as  by  direct  con-* 
sdousness. 

Consciousness  of  happiness  takes  place  when  the  hap- 
piness, flowing  out  naturally  and  necessarily  from  the 
existing  states  of  the  mind,  pervades  the  mind  and  makes 
itself  known  without  any  care  or  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  percipient  subject.  He,  who  loves  with  pure  love,  is 
happy;  because  happiness  is  a part  of  love’s  nature. 
Happiness,  although  there  may  be  causes  of  affliction, 
which  will  diminish  the  amount  of  it  at  times,  never  was 
separated,  and  never  can  be  separated,  from  love.  To 
speak  figuratively  in  the  matter,  happiness  is  the  smile 
of  love,  and  it  sits  just  as  naturally  and  beautifully  upon 
love’s  countenance,  as  the  smile  does  upon  the  counte- 
nance of  any  pure  and  benevolent  being.  Or,  to  use 
another  illustration,  it  is  love’s  bright  and  eternal  seal 
efigraven  upon  it  with  letters  of  light.  They  are  thus 
connected  by  an  eternal  relationship.  And  God  can  be 
no  more  unconscious  of  happiness  in  love,  than  he  can 
be  unconscious  of  love  itself. 


370 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


4.  But,  although  what  has  been  said  is  a great  and 
interesting  truth,  it  is  not  all.  There  is  another  view  of 
the  subject.  God’s  nature,  including  all  his  acts  and 
feelings,  corresponds  precisely  to  the  truth  and  relations 
of  things.  If  he  is  a perfect  being,  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise. It  is  not  possible  for  him,  being  what  he  is,  to 
sunder  himself  from  the  things  he  has  made,  and  from 
the  relations  they  sustain  to  himself  and  each  other; 
nor  to  act  otherwise,  and  to  be  otherwise,  than  in  perfect 
consistency  with  such  things  and  relations. 

5.  Among  other  works  which  are  to  be  attributed  to 
him,  God  has  formed  moral  agents.  Of  all  his  various 
works,  this  is,  in  some  respects^  the  greatest.  He  has 
formed  angels ; he  has  formed  men.  The  mere  fact  that 
he  has  made  them,  which  involves  the  additional  fact  of 
the  relationship  of  cause  and  effect,  in  other  words,  of 
father  and  child,  constitutes  an  alliance,  which  is  both 
an  alliance  of  morality  and  an  alliance  of  the  affections. 
In  other  words,  he  is  allied  to  them  by  duty  and  allied  to 
them  by  love. 

If  God  is  a good  and  holy  being,  it  is  not  possible  for 
him  to  create  a being  or  beings  susceptible  of  happiness, 
without  making  provision  for  their  happiness,  and  with- 
out rejoicing  in  their  happiness.  To  be  indifferent  to 
and  not  to  rejoice  in  the  happiness  of  his  creatures, 
would  be  the  characteristic  of  an  evil  and  not  of  a good 
being.  But  no  moral  being  which  God  has  created  can 
be  truly  and  permanently  happy  without  loving  God  and 
all  other  beings  as  God  would  have  them  love ; in  other 
words,  without  being  holy.  We  come,  then,  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  another  and  very  great  source  of  God’s 
happiness  is  the  contemplation  of  the  holiness  ana  hap- 
piness of  his  creatures.  If  they  are  holy,  they,  cannot 


UNION  IN  THE  WORK  OF  REDEMPTION.  371 


be  Otherwise  than  happy ; and  if  they  are  happy,  God 
must  be  happy  in  them. 

6.  The  sources  of  God’s  happiness,  therefore,  are  two- 
fold ] — first,  that  simple  but  ever-flowing  consciousness 
of  happiness  which  has  already  been  mentioned ; and, 
second,  the  contemplation  of  his  perfections,  as  they  are 
imaged  forth  and  realized  objectively,  that  is  to  say, 
in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  his  creatures.  The  moral 
universe  around  him,  when  unpolluted  by  sin,  is  the 
bright  mirror  of  himself.  It  is  the  beauty,  therefore,  of 
his  own  being,  seen  in  the  infinitude  of  holy  beings 
whom  he  has  created, — the  light  of  true  glory  kindled  up 
in  all  parts  of  the  universe,  and  reflected  back  upon  the 
central  fountain  of  light, — which  constitutes  a large  share 
of  his  ineffable  bliss.  Considered  in  relation  to  the 
beings  he  has  made,  God  may  properly  be  regarded  as 
the  great  moral  centre,  as  the  sun  in  the  vast  system  of 
holy  love,  rejoicing  in  the  infinite  number  of  stars  which 
his  own  radiance  has  kindled  up  around  him. 

7.  These  views  seem  to  us  to  justify  the  remark  made 
at  the  commencement  of  the  chapter,  namely,  that  the 
holiness  of  the  creatures  of  God  is  one  of  the  great  ele- 
ments of  his  happiness.  The  doctrine  that  the  happiness 
of  God  rests  for  its  support,  in  part  at  least,  upon  the 
holiness  of  his  creatures,  is  one  of  great  interest  to  men. 
It  furnishes  a new  motive  to  holy  effort.  Everything 
we  do  has  its  correspondent  result  in  the  divine  mind. 
There  is  not  a throb  in  our  bosoms,  beating  in  the  direc- 
tion of  pure  and  universal  love,  which  does  not  excite 
ioy  in  the  bosom  of  our  heavenly  Father.  It  is  not  more 
true  that  angels  rejoice,  than  it  is  that  God  rejoices,  over 
every  return  from  sin  and  every  advance  in  holiness. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  a higher  result  in 
the  destiny  of  man  than  that  which  thus  contributes  to 


372 


UNION  WITH  GOD. 


the  happiness  of  God.  The  thought,  therefore,  should 
animate  us  in  all  our  efforts,  namely,  that  God  sees  us; 
that  he  takes  an  interest  in  all  our  acts  and  feelings ; 
and  that  when  we  are  good  our  Father  is  happy.  The 
light  of  our  little  star  goes  back  to  its  parent  sun.  The 
small  wave  of  our  little  fountain  swells  the  broad  billow 
of  the  mighty  ocean.  Can  there  be  a higher  motive  to 
action  than  this  ? 

Then  let  us  labor  on.  God  works.  Let  us  work  with 
him.  Let  us  suffer,  if  needs  be.  Yea,  let  us  rejoice  in 
suffering ; but  neither  in  toil  nor  in  suffering  trusting  to 
ourselves,  but  rather  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith;  who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God.’’ 


PART  EIGHTH. 


OF  THE  PEACE  OR  REST  OF  THE  SOUL  IN  A STATE  OF  UNION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA  OF  A SOUL  AT  REST. 

Rest,  the  result  of  the  soul’s  advancement  in  religious  experience.  — 01 
counterfeits  of  the  true  rest.  — Circumstances  under  which  true  rest 
exists.  — Illustrations  of  the  subject  from  the  natural  world. — Also 
from  moral  beings.  — Application  of  the  principles  laid  down  to  men. 

Having  thus  completed  the  series  of  topics,  which  most 
naturally  presented  themselves  to  notice  in  connection 
with  the  subject  of  Divine  Union,  it  remains  only  to  con- 
sider the  general  aspect  or  appearance  of  the  soul,  which 
has  once  more  united  itself  with  its  true  source  of  life. 
And  this  may  be  done  in  a few  words  by  saying,  it  is  a 
soul  in  rest  or  peace, 

2.  Even  in  the  beginning  of  its  renovated  life,  when 
it  first  finds  the  blessedness  of  forgiveness,  the  soul  ex- 
periences a degree  of  peace.  But,  compared  with  what 
it  is  subsequently,  it  is  limited  both  in  degree  and  per- 
manency. At  the  early  period  to  which  we  now  refer, 
the  soul  finds  rest  from  the  condemnation  of  past  sins, 
without  finding  rest  from  the  sharpness  of  inward  con- 
flicts, from  doubts,  uncertainties,  and  heavy  temptations. 
As  it  advances  in  religious  experience,  the  elements  of 
rest  develop  themselves.  When,  by  the  crucifixion  of 
32 


374 


DIVINE  UNION. 


self  and  the  full  resurrection  of  a new  at. d purified  spirit, 
it  has  become  one  with  its  heavenly  Father,  it  then  has 
a peace  or  rest  approaching  that  of  the  heavenly  world. 

Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  'peace^^  says  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  “whose  mind  is  stayed  on  Thee,  because  he 
trusteth  in  Thee.’’ 

3.  It  is  important  to  understand  correctly  in  what  true 
rest  or  peace  of  the  soul  consists.  There  is  a rest  which 
is  more  so  in  appearance  than  reality ; just  as  there  is  a 
semblance,  a counterfeit  of  humility,  of  benevolence,  and 
of  other  Christian  graces.  There  are  some  persons  whose 
apparent  rest  is  to  be  ascribed  to  natural  inertness  or 
stupidity,  and  not  to  the  sanctified  adjustment  of  their 
powers.  The  true  rest,  however,  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  identical  with  inaction. 

The  rest  of  the  soul,  in  the  highest  spiritual  sense  of 
the  terms,  is  that  state  of  the  soul,  whether  it  be  in  re- 
pose or  in  action,  which  is  in  harmony  with  God.  There 
is  only  one  right  position  of  the  soul.  All  others  must 
necessarily  be  wrong.  And  that  position  is  one  where 
the  creature  is  brought  into  perfect  adjustment  with  the 
Creator,  by  deriving  its  perceptions  from  God,  by  merg- 
ing its  affections  in  God’s  affections,  and  by  harmonizing 
its  will  with  God’s  will.  In  such  a state  of  the  soul 
there  must  necessarily  be  rest,  if  God  has  rest. 

4.  Of  rest,  as  thus  explained, — the  rest,  not  of  inaction, 
but  of  harmony  of  position,  — we  have  illustrations  every- 
where. In  this  view  of  it,  physical  nature  is  at  rest.  It 
is  impossible  to  look  on  the  mingled  expanse  of  land  and 
water,  of  field  and  forest,  without  a deep  sense  of  har- 
mony and  repose.  The  various  objects  which  nature 
thus  presents  to  us,  “from  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  to  the 
hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall,”  are  arranged  in 
their  appropriate  place,  and  are  clothed  in  strength  and 


375 


the  soul’s  rest  in  union. 

beauty,  but  without  the  turmoil  of  labor.  As  their  rest 
is  the  rest  of  harmony,  a rest  appropriate  to  their  nature 
and  involved  in  the  fulfilment  of  their  own  laws  of  life, 
It  is  necessarily  incidental  to  their  growth  and  perfection. 
They  grow  in  rest ; — they  shine  in  rest.  Their  rest, 
therefore,  is  at  the  same  time  their  work.  But  their 
work,  great  as  it  is  in  extent,  and  wonderful  in  its  varie- 
ty, is  always  accomplished  without  effort  and  without 
the  sense  of  fatigue.  Behold  the  lilies  of  the  field. 
They  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin.  And  yet  I say  unto 
you,  that  Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  was  not  arrayed  like 
one  of  these.’’ 

Again,  we  may  find  an  illustration  of  the  subject  in 
the  aspect  of  repose,  the  beautiful  stillness  which  charac- 
terizes the  heavenly  bodies,  when  seen  in  a cloudless  sky 
at  night.  The  beautiful  orbs  which  then  spangle  and 
adorn  the  heavenly  vault,  are  always  in  motion ; always 
fulfilling  the  ends  for  which  they  were  made ; but,  at  the 
same  time,  they  are  never  in  a state  of  discordance  and 
unrest,  because  their  movement  always  harmonizes  with 
law.  Their  constant  motion,  as  in  the  language  of  an 
English  poet,  they  “ wheel  unshaken  through  the  void 
immense,”  does  not  cost  them  more  labor  than  that  con- 
stant proclamation  of  God’s  greatness,  which  the  Scrip- 
tures ascribe  to  them.  And  it  is  not  more  wonderful 
that  they  should  move  in  rest,  and  fulfil  their  destiny 
without  labor,  than  that  they  should  thus  proclaim  the 
glory  of  God  by  the  mere  perfection  of  their  being,  “with- 
out speech  or  language.”^  Both  are  the  developments, 
the  unconstrained  but  necessary  results,  of  their  own 
nature,  and  of  their  perfect  adjustment  to  the  facts  and 
relations  of  things. 

5.  But  if  material  existences  may  be  described  as  being 


* Psalm  19 ; 1 — 3. 


376 


DIVINE  UNION. 


in  a state  of  rest  while  fulfilling  the  laws  and  purposes 
for  which  they  exist,  we  may  be  certain  that  this  may 
be  said,  with  equal  or  greater  truth,  of  all  sentient  and 
moral  beings.  All  such  beings,  in  conformity  with  that 
eternal  wisdom  which  assigns  to  everything  its  place  and 
its  laws,  have  their  sphere  of  action,  their  orbit  of  move- 
ment. By  their  capabilities  of  perception,  feeling,  and 
action,  they  are  as  precisely  fitted  to  their  sphere  of 
movement  as  the  material  bodies  which  move  and  shine 
in  the  heavens,  or  as  any  classes  of  animated  existences 
below  them,  all  of  which  have  their  place,  their  sphere, 
their  laws,  their  destination.  And  in  the  sphere  which  is 
thus  allotted  them,  in  the’r  appropriate  place  and  under 
their  appropriate  laws,  they  fulfil  the  ends  of  their  exist- 
ence by  action  carried  on  without  any  care  or  labor, 
which  is  inconsistent  with  true  peace. 

In  making  these  remarks,  we  speak,  of  course,  of  their 
original  constitution ; of  what  they  were  designed  to  be; 
and  of  what  they  are,  so  long  as  they  do  not  deviate 
from  the  principles  and  designs,  in  view  of  which  they 
were  formed.  So  long  as  this  is  the  case,  there  will 
always  be  found  to  be  a harmony  of  position,  a truth  and 
harmony  of  movement,  which  will  always  be  character- 
ized by  peace.  And  on  no  other  condition  can  it  be  said 
of  them  that  they  are  either  right  in  morals  or  happy  in 
experience.  Angels,  for  instance,  have  their  sphere  of 
life.  To  that  sphere  they  are  undoubtedly  limited.  And 
so  long  as  they  do  not  deviate  from  it,  they  exist  in  and 
have  the  experience  of  true  spiritual  rest ; — not  stupid, 
not  inactive,  not  without  thought,  feeling,  and  purpose ; 
but  always  in  the  perfection  of  repose,  because  always 
in  the  perfect  harmony  of  physical  and  moral  position. 
If  they  were  otherwise  than  they  are,  if  there  were 
the  least  variation  of  adjustment  in  place  or  in  action. 


377 


THE  soul’s  REST  IN  UNION. 

their  rest  would  be  disquieted,  their  joyous  repose  be 
broken. 

6.  But  the  truth  and  perfect  emblem  of  all  rest  is  God 
himself;  — the  infinite  rest,  the  eternal  peace,  the  just 
and  unalterable  tranquillity.  He  is  in  peace,  because  he 
is  in  the  truth.  The  truth  is  in  him  ; it  encircles  him, 
and  proceeds  forth  from  him.  All  things,  which  are 
made,  are  formed  in  accordance  with  those  true  and  eter- 
nal ideas,  which  are  inherent  in  the  divine  mind.  Every 
action  which  proceeds  from  God  is  in  harmony  with  the 
truth;  every  thought,  also,  which  comes  from  the  same 
source,  is  in  harmony  with  the  same  truth.  God  could 
not  possibly  act,  or  think,  or  feel,  otherwise  than  he  does, 
without  an  infringement  of  the  truth  and  right  of  things, 
and  without  placing  himself  in  a false  and  wrong  atti- 
tude. And  this  is  the  foundation  of  his  rest.  Like  the 
sun  in  the  midst  of  the  solar  system,  while  he  is  the 
source  of  movement  and  power  to  all  things  that  exist, 
he  acts  without  labor,  controls  without  effort,  occupying 
a centre  which  is  unchangeable,  because  perfection  can 
never  have  more  than  one  centre,  and  resting  there  with 
perfect  rest  and  peace  of  spirit,  because  his  mighty 
thoughts  and  purposes  all  harmonize  with  his  position. 

7.  If  God  rests  by  having  his  centre  in  himself,  man 
may  rest  by  having  his  centre  in  God ; and  the  rest  of 
man,  having  its  supports  in  the  Infinite  Mind,  may  pos- 
sess the  same  attributes  as  the  rest  of  the  Divinity.  So 
that  man  derives  his  rest  or  peace  of  spirit  from  God,  as 
he  derives  everything  else  from  the  same  source.  And 
just  in  proportion  as  we  approach  to  quietness  of  spirit, 
founded  on  just  principles,  we  approach  in  similitude  to 
God.  It  is  the  quietist,  — the  man  who  moves  unshaken 
in  the  sphere  and  path  which  God  has  marked  out  for 
him,  unelated  by  joy,  undepressed  by  sorrow,  unallured 

32^ 


378 


DIVINE  UNION. 


by  temptations,  unterrified  by  adversities, — it  is  this  man, 
bearing  about  always  the  divine  calmness  of  his  crucified 
Elder  Brother,  who  is  truly  godlike.  And,  just  so  far 
as  he  is  like  God  in  character,  he  is  like  him  in  inward 
tranquillity. 

And  it  is  such  views  as  these  which  furnish  the  true 
explanation  of  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  which  conveyed 
to  his  followers  his  parting  legacy : Peace  I leave  with 

you.  My  peace  I give  unto  you.’’ 


’TIS  NOT  IN  VAIN  THE  MIND. 

’T  is  not  in  vain  the  mijid, 

By  many  a tempest  driven, 

Shall  seek  a resting-place  to  find, 

A calm  like  that  of  heaven. 

The  weak  one  and  dismayed. 
Scarce  knowing  where  to  flee. 

How  happy,  when  he  finds  the  aid 
That  comes  alone  from  Thee  ! 

In  Thee,  oh  God,  is  rest  ! — 

Rest  from  the  world’s  desires. 

From  pride  that  agitates  the  breast, 
From  passion’s  angry  fires. 

In  Thee  is  rest  from  fear. 

That  brings  its  strange  alarm ; 

And  sorrow,  with  its  rising  tear, 
Thou  hast  the  power  to  calm 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  SOUL  IN  UNION  RESTS  FROM  REASONINGS. 

IniWDductory  remarks.  — The  irreligious  man  given  to  questionings 
and  reasonings.  — Reasons  of  this.  — Different  with  the  man  who  is 
in  harmony  with  God.  — The,  holy  man  rests  from  reasonings.  — 
Explanations.  — Reasonableness  and  necessity  of  the  view  given.  — 
The  Saviour  on  the  sea  of  Tiberias.- — Remarks. 

From  the  remarks  made  in  the  last  chapter,  we  may  , 
understand  the  general  nature  of  that  rest  which  the 
soul  experiences  when  it  is  brought  into  union  with  God. 
It  is  the  rest  of  harmony,  and  not  the  rest  of  inaction ; — • 
a rest,  calm  and  triumphant,  which  may  justly  be  re- 
garded as  a foretaste  of  the  heavenly  world.  It  is  a rest, 
however,  which  is  susceptible  of  analysis,  and  which 
will  be  better  understood  by  being  considered  in  some 
particulars.  We  proceed,  therefore,  without  proposing  to 
exhaust  the  subject,  to  state  more  particularly,  though 
briefly,  some  of  its  elements. 

2.  Among  other  things  which  will  be  mentioned  in 
their  order,  the  soul,  in  the  highest  results  of  spiritual 
experience,  resti)  from  reasonings.  The  reverse  of  this 
proposition  is  true  in  respect  to  those,  who  have  never 
experienced  the  power  and  the  guidance  of  religious  sen- 
timents. It  is  difficult  for  the  soul,  so  long  as  it  remains 
in  a state  of  alienation  from  God,  to  suppress  or  avoid 
reasonings.  It  reasons,  because  it  has  lost  the  God  of 


reason. 


380 


DIVINE  UNION. 


God  is  not  more  the  centre  of  the  life  of  the  soul,  than 
he  is  the  centre  of.  all  truth ; that  is  to  say,  he  does  not 
move  the  soul  more  to  right  action,  than  he  does  to  right 
perception.  When  God  is  displaced  from  his  centre  in 
the  soul,  the  relations  of  truth,  considered  as  the  subjects 
of  our  perceptions,  are  entirely  unsettled.  It  is  then 
that  man,  cast  as  it  were  on  an  ocean  without  soundings 
and  without  shore,  knows  not  where  he  is,  nor  what  he 
is.  He  resorts  to  reasoning,  therefore,  from  the  necessity 
of  his  position.  So  great  are  his  perplexities,  that  he  is 
obliged  to  reason.  He  doubts,  he  inquires,  he  compares, 
he  draws  conclusions,  he  pronounces  judgment.  His 
whole  mental  nature  is  in  action,  without  its  being  the 
action  of  rest,  the  quiet  movemenj  of  the  divine  order. 
Perhaps  it  is  Well  that  it  should  be  so,  until,  by  making 
inquiries  without  results,  and  without  finding  the  true 
rest  of  the  spirit,  he  feels  the  necessity  of  turning  to  God 
in  humility,  who  is  the  only  source  of  truth  for  the  un- 
derstanding, and  of  pacification  for  the  heart. 

3.  It  is  different  with  the  truly  holy  soul.  The  soul, 
which  is  united  with  God  in  the  full  exercise  of  faith, 
rests  from  reasonings.  In  order  to  understand  this  prop- 
osition, however,  it  is  proper  to  say  something  in  expla- 
nation of  the  terms  used  in  it.  The  term  rest  is  relative. 
It  has  relation  to  and  implies  the  existence  of  the  oppo- 
site, namely,  unquietness  or  unrest.  The  term  reason- 
ing, is  the  name  of  that  important  intellectual  power 
which  compares  and  combines  truth,  in  order  to  discover 
new  truth.  Under  a divine  direction,  this  power  is  sus- 
ceptible of  useful  applications  and  results.  It  is  then 
entirely  calm  in  its  action,  and  is  consistent  with  the 
highest  peace  and  joy  of  the  spirit.  To  rest  from  such 
reasonings,  from  reasonings  which  do  not  disturb  rest, 
would  be  an  absurdity.  Such  rest  would  be  cessation 


THE  soul's  rest  IN  UNION. 


381 


from  a.3tion,  and  not  rest  or  quietude  in  action.  When, 
therefore,  the  remark  is  made  by  spiritual  writers,  that 
the  trmy  renewed  soul  has  rest  from  reasonings,  the 
meaning  is,  that  it  has  rest  from  the  vicious  and  per- 
plexing reasonings  of  nature  ; in  other  words,  from  rea- 
sonings which  are  not  from  God.  It  is  certainly  a great 
religious  grace  to  be  free  from  such  reasonings. 

4.  He  who  has  no  rest,  except  what  he  can  find  in 
reasonings,  (we  mean  such  reasonings  as  have  just  been 
described,)  can  never  enjoy  the  true  rest,  because  such 
reasoning  never  can  give  it.  It  is  not  an  instrument 
adequate  to  such  a result.  And  it  may  properly  be 
added  here,  that  there  are  some  mysteries  in  the  universe 
which  reasoning,  in  any  of  its  forms,  has  not  power  to 
solve.  To  a created  mind,  for  instance,  a mind  which  is 
uncreated  must  always  be  a mystery.  From  the  nature 
of  the  case,  God  is  a mystery  to  the  human  mind,  be- 
cause, being  uncreated,  he  is,  and  always  must  be, 
incomprehensible.  Incomprehensible  in  his  nature,  he  is 
incomprehensible  also  in  many  of  his  creative  and  ad- 
ministrative acts.  The  apostle,  in  speaking  of  the 
depths  of  God’s  wisdom,  exclaims : ‘‘  How  unsearchable 
are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out ! 
Rom.  11:  33.  Well  may  those  judgments  be  called 
unsearchable,  and  those  ways  past  finding  out,  which 
pertain  to  the  Infinite.  It  is  obviously  impossible  that 
the  finite  should  fully  explore  them. 

5.  As,  therefore,  there  is  a multitude  of  things  which 
reasoning  cannot  resolve,  all  attempts  to  satisfy  ourselves 
on  such  subjects  must  be  attended  with  disquiet  and 
anxiety.  And  the  mind  which  is  fully  right  with  God, 
will  not  be  likely  to  make  such  an  attempt.  The  true 
wisdom  is,  to  wish  to  know  all  that  God  would  have  us 
to  know ; to  e mploy  our  perception  and  reasoning  under 


382 


DIVINE  UNION. 


a divine  guidance,  and  to  seek  nothing  beyond  that  limit. 
All  beyond  that  we  may  properly  and  safely  leave,  know- 
ing that  all  things  work  together  for  the  good  of  those 
who  love  God. 

We  may  illustrate  our  position,  perhaps,  by  comparing 
ourselves  to  persons  on  a voyage.  Providence  is  the 
vessel,  if  we  may  so  speak,  in  which  we  are  embarked, 
and  in  which  we  are  borne  on  over  the  vicissitudes  of 
our  allotment,  over  the  waves  of  changing  time.  The 
vessel,  in  a world  like  this,  where  good  and  evil  are  con- 
flicting, may  be  tossed  with  violence ; but  the  mariners 
should  be  calm.  Let  the  vessel  float  on.  The  winds 
and  the  currents  are  not  accidents  ; but  every  movement 
of  them,  every  rolling  wave,  eiery  breath  of  wind,  is 
under  a divine  control.  The  pilot  is  -awake  when  he 
seems  to  sleep.  The  rest  of  God  is  not  the  rest  of  weak- 
ness or  of  forgetfulness,  but  the  rest  of  security.  And 
his  work  is  not  the  less  effectual  and  the  less  certain, 
because  it  is  done  without  observation.’’  It  is  our 
business,  when  we  have  done  all  that  he  has  commanded 
us,  to  leave  the  result  with  him,  without  fear  and  with- 
out questions. 

The  vessel  which  bore  the  Saviour  over  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  was  tossed  by  the  storm.  His  disciples  came 
to  him  in  great  agitation,  and  called  upon  him  for  help. 
In  quieting  the  raging  of  the  tempest,  he  thought  it  a 
suitable  occasion  to  rebuke  them  for  giving  themselves 
up  so  easily  to  the  reasonings  and  fears  of  unbelieving 
nature.  And  he  saith  unto  them.  Why  are  ye  fearful, 
O ye  of  little  faith ! Then  he  arose  and  rebuked  the 
winds  and  the  sea,  and  there  was  a great  calm.  But  the 
men  marvelled,  saying.  What  manner  of  man  is  this,  that 
even  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey  him?” 

6.  During  some  years  past,  there  have  been  great 


THE  soul's  rest  IN  UNION. 


383 


changes  and  perplexities  in  nations.  All  the  positions  of 
society  have  been  reversed ; problems  have  been  started 
which  affect  the  basis  of  civilization ; governments  have 
been  overturned;  the  low  have  been  elevated  to  places 
of  power;  and  the  great  have  been  driven  into  exile  or 
cast  into  dungeons.  The  man  of  the  world  reasons ; 
politicians  gather  up  the  letters  of  history,  and  try  to 
spell  something  which  will  disclose  the  mysteries  of  the 
future.  But  God  keeps  his  own  counsels.  The  wheels 
of  his  vast  government  move  on.  But  he  who  trusts  in 
God  is  not  troubled.  His  belief  in  the  Creator  harmo- 
nizes and  triumphs  over  the  confusions  of  the  creature. 
And  faith  is  calm,  where  reason  is  confounded. 

7.  Thou  who  seekest  the  truth!  Having  exercised 
thy  reason,  till  thou  findest  there  is  no  peace  in  it,  rest  at 
last  in  the  God  of  reason.  Link  the  weakness  of  finite 
wisdom  to  the  strength  of  Infinite  wisdom.  What  thou 
knowest  not,  believe  that  God  knows.  Blindfolded  to  the 
future,  nevertheless  walk  on,  with  God’s  hand  to  guide 
thee.  And  thus  accept  the  fulness  and  strength  of  Infi- 
nite wisdom,  which  is  pledged  to  all  those  who  have  faith, 
as  a compensation  for  the  deficiencies  and  weakness  of 
thine  own.  God  will  work  out  problems  for  the  humility 
of  faith,  which  he  hides  from  the  confidence  of  unsancti- 
fied deduction.  And  thus  the  truly  humble  and  devout 
Christian,  who  knows  nothing  but  his  Bible,  will  have 
more  true  peace  of  spirit  than  thfi  unbelieving  philoso- 
pher. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  SOUL  N UNION  RESTS  FROM  DESIRES. 

Rest  from  desires  a different  thing  from  the  extinction  of  desires.  — 
Two  classes  of  desires ; — - those  attended  with  faith,  and  those  which 
are  not  so.  — Desires  attended  with  faith  are  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  God,  and  are  peaceful.  — Gqd’s  nature,  as  well  as  his  prom- 
ises, pledged  in  behalf  of  the  man  who  has  faith. 

The  soul  that  is  wholly  given  to  God,  not  only  rests 
from  disquieting  and  unprofitable  reasonings,  (the  subject 
remarked  upon  in  the  last  chapter,)  but  also  from  desire^. 
Rest  from  desires,  however,  is  a different  thing  from  the 
extinction  of  desires.  It  would  be  incorrect  to  suppose 
that  desires,  in  their  various  forms  and  modifications,  are 
always  wrong,  or  always  attended  with  anxiety.  The 
rest  from  desires,  which  the  holy  soul  experiences,  is  a 
rest  from  all  such  desires  as  do  not  harmonize  with  the 
will  of  God.  All  desires,  which  are  not  in  unity  with 
the  divine  desires  and  purposes,  are  disquieting  and  full 
of  trouble. 

2.  How  many  persons  are  the  subjugated  slaves  of 
those  inordinate  appetites,  which  have  their  origin  in  our 
physical  nature ! How  many  are  not  merely  agitated, 
but  consumed  as  it  were,  by  the  desire  of  accumulating 
property ! How  general  and  strong  is  the  desire  of  repu- 
tation ! Many,  in  whom  other  desires  are  perhaps  com- 
paratively feeble,  spend  anxious  days  and  toilsome  nights 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


385 


in  seeking  for  power.  But  the  truly  holy  person,  whose 
great  and  only  desire  is  that  the  will  of  the  Lori  may 
be  done,  has  no  desire  of  these  things,  or  of  any  other 
things,  except  so  far  as  God  may  see  fit  to  inspire  them. 
And  ali  desires  which  harmonize  with  God’s  arrange- 
ments, and  have  their  origin  in  a divine  inspiration,  are 
peaceful  and  happy. 

3.  “ Love,  pure  love,”  says  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  some  re- 
marks addressed  to  Christians  professing  holiness,  “is 
satisfied  with  the  supreme  good,  with  God.  Beware, 
then,  of  desiring  anything  hut  Him,  Now  you  desire 
nothing  else.  Every  other  desire  is  driven  out ; see  that 
none  enter  in  again.  Keep  thyself  pure ; let  your  eye 
remain  single,  and  your  whole  body  shall  remain  full  of 
light.  Admit  no  desire  of  pleasing  food,  or  any  other 
pleasure  of  sense ; no  desire  of  pleasing  the  eye  or  the 
imagination;  no  desire  of  money,  of  praise,  or  esteem; 
of  happiness  in  any  creature.  You  may  bring  these 
desires  back  ; but  you  need  not.  You  may  feel  them  no 
more.  Oh,  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
. lath  made  you  free ! ” 

4.  This  passage,  written  by  a man  of  deep  religious 
experience,  clearly  involves  and  sanctions  the  doctrine 
that  holy  souls  rest  from  all  desires,  except  such  as  are 
from  a divine  source.  There  are,  then,  two  classes  of 
desires ; — those  which  are  the  product  of  a fallen  and 
unsanctified  nature,  and  those  which  are  from  God.  Agi- 
tation and  sorrow  always  attend  the  one  class.  True 
peace,  the  peace  of  Christ  and  of  angels,  is  the  charac- 
teristic of  the  other. 

And  we  proceed  now  to  say,  that  the  ground  of  differ- 
ence between  them  is  this  : Desires  which  are  from  God 
are  attended  with  faith ; and  those  which  are  not  from 
him  are  without  faith.  The  man  of  the  world  is  full  of 
33 


386 


DIVINE  UNION. 


desires ; but  being  constantly  in  doubt  whether  his  de- 
sires will  be  accomplished  or  not,  he  ’s  constantly  the 
subject  of  agitation  "and  grief.  But  the  holy  man,  being 
the  subject  of  those  desires  only  which  God  has  inspired 
within  him,  cannot  doubt  that  God,  who  is  never  disap- 
pointed, will  fulfil  them  in  his  own  time  and  way.  Hav- 
ing thus  two  facts  in  his  mental  experience  at  the  same 
time,  namely,  desire  and  a belief  in  the  fulfilment  of 
desire,  the  element  of  uneasiness,  which  is  involved  in 
the  wants  of  the  one,  is  annulled  by  the  pleasure  which 
is  involved  in  the  supply  or  fulness  of  the  other.  Jn 
other  words,  faith  stops  the  cravings  of  desire,  by  being 
itself  the  substance^^  or  fulfjment  of  its  object;  so  that 
constant  desire,  supposing  it  to  be  constantly  existing,  is 
changed  into  constancy  of  fruition,  constancy  of  peace. 

5.  In  saying,  therefore,  that  the  holy  man  ceases  from 
desires,  we  mean  that  he  ceases  from  worldly  desires ; 
and  in  ceasing  from  such  desires  he  has  peace  of  soul. 
Does  he  desire  food  and  clothing?  Being  limited  in  his 
desire  by  what  is  necessary  for  him,  and  by  what  God 
approves  in  him,  he  believes  that  God  will  see  his  wants 
supplied.  And  thus  he  is  without  anxiety.  Does  he 
desire  a good  name  among  men?  As  he  desires  it  only 
that  God  may  be  glorified,  and  only  so  far  as  God  allows 
him  to  desire  it,  he  has  faith  that  he  will  receive,  and 
that  he  does  now  receive,  so  much  of  the  world’s  favor- 
able opinion  as  is  best  for  him ; and  he  asks  and  wants 
no  more.  God,  who  inspired  the  desire,  has  answered  it 
at  the  moment ; and  he  is  perfectly  satisfied.  Does  he 
desire  power  ? As  he  desires  no  power  but  God’s  power, 
and  such  as  God  shall  give  him,  he  receives  now,  in  the 
“evidence”  and  the  “substance”  of  his  faith,  the  very 
thing  which  he  asks;  and  having  nothing  in  possession, 
and  everything  by  the  omnipotence  of  belief,  he  can 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


387 


almost  say  with  the  Saviour,  “ Thinkest  thou  that  I can- 
not now  pray  to  my  Father,  and  he  shall  presently  give 
me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels?’’  And  then  he 
adds,  with  a still  higher  degree  of  faith,  But  how  then 
shall  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled  that  thus  it  must  be?” 
He  does  not  desire,  and  does  not  ask,  any  power  or  any 
assistance  which  is  inconsistent  with  God’s  present 
arrangements. 

6.  Aided  by  such  views,  we  may  possess  a distinct 
and  impressive  appreciation  of  many  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture. ‘‘Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,”  says  the  Sav- 
iour, “how  they  grow.  They  toil  not;  neither  do  they 
spin.  And  yet  I say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon,  in  all 
his  glory,  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wherefore, 
if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is, 
and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much 
more  clothe  you,  oA,  ye  of  little  faith  “ Trust  in  thv 
Lord,”  says  the  Psalmist,  “ and  do  good : — so  shalt  thou 
dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed.”  “For 
the  Egyptians, it  is  said  in  the  prophet  Isaiah,  “shall 
help  in  vain,  and  to  no  purpose.  Therefore,  have  I cried 
concerning  this,  their  strength  is  to  sit  stillP  That  is  to 
say,  it  is  better  to  trust  in  God  and  to  wait  quietly  for 
the  manifestations  of  his  providence,  than  to  adopt  any 
means  or  trust  in  any  aid  which  he  does  not  approve. 
Matt.  6:  28—30.  Ps.  37  : 3.  Isa.  30:  7. 

To  the  holy  soul,  which  has  no  desires  but  God’s 
desires,  and  which  does  not  doubt,  such  promises  are 
realities, 

7.  We  would  add  here  one  remark  more.  It  is  well 
sometimes  to  remember,  that  the  good  which  is  promised 
to  God’s  people  is  sure  to  them,  not  only  because  it  is 
vromised,  but  because  it  is  a necessary  result  of  the  excel-- 
lences  of  the  divine  nature.  There  is  a love,  a mercy 


388 


DIVINE  UNION. 


back  of  the  promise,  from  which  the  promise  originated ; 
— not  only  God’s  word,  but  his  nature  is  pledged. 

In  giving  ourselves  to  God,  (as  all  holy  persons  profess 
to  do  and  must  do,)  we  do  not  do  it  in  part  only.  We 
not  only  renounce  ourselves  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
terms,  but  also  the  means  of  supporting  ourselves ; — not 
only  our  persons,  but  all  earthly  and  finite  dependencies. 
We  not  only  give  ourselves  to  God,  to  be  servants  to  do 
his  work,  but  to  be  sons,  whom  it  is  his  delight  to  pro- 
vide for.  The  support  of  those  whom  God  has  adopted 
into  his  family,  and  who  are  properly  called  his  sons, 
ceases  to  be  a contingency.  It  is  only  when  and  so  long 
as  we  are  out  of  God,  and  are  separate  from  him,  that  we 
are  left  to  our  own  wretched  resources.  In  all  other 
situations,  it  is  not  only  a truth,  but  a necessity,  that  God 
should  provide  for  us.  If  God  had  never  promised  to 
clothe,  and  feed,  and  watch  over,  his  people,  it  would 
nevertheless  have  been  done,  because  the  holiness  as 
well  as  the  benevolence  of  his  nature  necessarily  requires 
it.  In  other  words,  it  is  his  nature  to  give  where  there 
is  a disposition  to  receive ; — to  fill  the  hand  which  is 
truly  open  to  take  what  is  presented  to  it.  His  promise 
is  only  the  expression  of  his  nature. 

It  is  thus,  that,  in  having  nothing,  by  mingling  our 
desires  with  the  divine  desires,  we  have  all  things.  The 
loss  of  ourselves  by  the  moral  union  of  ourselves  with 
God,  is  necessarily  the  possession  of  God.  In  God  is 
the  fulfilment  of  o ir  desires.  In  God,  therefore,  there  is 
rest. 


CHAPTER  IV, 


THE  SOUL  IN  UNION  RESTS  FROM  THE  REPROOFS  OF  CON- 
SCIENCE.* 

Of  the  conflicts  of  those  who  are  but  partially  sanctified.  — Different 
state  of  those  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  love.  — References  to  the 
Scriptures.  — Explanation  of  the  remarks  found  in  Madame  Guyon 
and  others.  — Holy  persons  not  only  freed  from  the  reproofs  of  con- 
science, but  moved  to  action  by  holy  love  rather  than  by  feelings  of 
constraint.  — Of  the  peace  and  happiness  of  such. 

In  analyzing  and  explaining  the  elements  of  that  pure 
and  heavenly  peace,  which  our  Saviour  has  left  both  as 
the  inheritance  and  the  characteristic  of  truly  holy  souls, 
we  proceed  to  remark,  further,  that  they  are  at  rest/rom 
the  reproofs  of  conscience.  This  is  a state  of  things  very 
different  from  that  which  is  experienced  by  souls  that 
are  only  partially  united  with  God.  The  latter,  as  they 
are  going  through  the  transition  state  from  love  com- 
mencing to  love  completed,  have  a constant  conflict  in 
themselves.  Their  inward  good  and  evil  are  arrayed  in 
opposition  to  each  other.  They  see  the  right  ; but  they 
continue,  in  some  degree  at  least,  to  follow  the  wrong. 
And  just  so  far  as  this  is  the  case,  they  are  under  con- 
demnation. And  under  such  circumstances,  they  cannot 
fail  to  be  uneasy  and  unhappy. 

* See  in  connection  with  this  chapter  the  remarks  in  Chap.  VIII.,  Pt 
^d,  on  the  religion  of  love  as  compared  with  that  of  obligation. 

33* 


390 


DIVINE  UNION. 


2.  It  is  not  so  with  the  soul  which  is  given  to  God 
without  reserve,  and  which  loves  him  with  the  whole 
heart.  Such  a soul,  renovated  and  purified  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  may  be  said  to  be  clothed  with  innocence ; or,  if 
such  expressions  should  be  considered  as  too  strong  by 
some,  certain  it  is,  that  conscience  does  not  condemn  it. 
“ There  is  no  condemnation,”  says  the  apostle  Paul,  “to 
them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus ; who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after,  the  Spirit.”  In  the  epistles  of  John,  also, 
are  expressions,  which  distinctly  recognize  the  state  of 
freedom  from  condemnation. 

3.  And  this  explains  a remark  which  we  sometimes 
find  in  the  lives  of  devoted  Christip.ns.  It  seems  to  them, 
as  they  sometimes  say,  as  if  they  had  lost  their  con- 
science. In  the  writings  of  Madame  Guyon,^  both  in 
the  work  entitled  the  “Torrents,”  and  also  in  her  “Let- 
ters,” there  are  repeated  references  to  this  peculiar  state 
of  experience.  The  expressions  which  such  persons  em- 
ploy have  their  foundation  in  the  contrast  of  the  present 
with  their  past  position.  They  think  they  have  lost 
their  conscience,  because  they  are  not  now  the  subjects  of 
a certain  mode  of  its  activity.  Formerly  their  good  was 
so  much  mixed  with  evil,  that  they  were  constantly  the 
subjects,  more  or  less,  of  inward  admonition;  so  much 
so,  that  this  seemed  to  them  almost  the  whole  office  of 
conscience.  And,  accordingly,  when  they  experienced  a 
higher  degree  of  love,  and  no  longer  felt  the  need  of  such 
admonitions  and  reproofs,  they  seemed,  in  the  absence  of 
its  chastisements,  to  have  lost  conscience  itself. 

4.  After  a while  they  learn  that  conscience,  operating 
differently  in  the  evil  and  the  good,  has  its  smiles  as  well 
as  its  froTvns ; and  that  its  action  is  felt  in  that  internal 
approbation  which  constantly  attends  them.  Angels 

*Les  Torrens,  P . IL,  Ch.  2,  ^ 3.  Lettres,  Vol.  V.,  Let.  22,  $ 6. 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION.  391 

hare  otrnscience ; God  has  conscience ; but  they  never 
feel  its  lash;  nor  is  it  possible  for  them,  while  they 
remain  what  they  are,  ever  to  know  its  existence  as  a 
part  of  their  own  nature,  except  by  the  approbation  of 
its  smiles.  The  cessation  or  rest,  therefore,  which  the 
persons  to  whom  we  allude  experience,  is  not  a cessation 
from  conscience,  but  only  from  the  condemnation  of 
conscience. 

5.  And  this  is  not  all.  There  is  a rest,  in  holy  persons, 
not  only  from  the  reproofs  or  condemnations  of  con- 
science, (a  view  which  naturally  arrests  our  attention  in 
the  first  instance,)  but  also,  with  proper  explanations  of 
the  remark,  from  the  compulsory  or  constraining  power 
of  conscience.  The  constraints  of  conscience,  (which  is 
only  another  expression  for  those  coercive  feelings  of  ob- 
ligation which  require  us  to  pursue  a right  course,)  pre- 
cede action ; while  the  reproofs  of  conscience,  on  the 
other  hand,  folloxo  action.  The  holy  soul,  the  soul  which 
has  passed  from  a mixed  state  to  a state  where  holy  love 
becomes  the  exclusive  principle  of  action,  does  not  ap- 
pear to  experience,  and  certainly  not  to  be  conscious  of, 
those  compulsory  influences  to  which  we  have  referred. 
It  does  not  feel  the  reproofs  of  conscience,  because  it  does 
not  do  wrong.  It  does  not  feel  the  compulsions  or  con- 
straints of  conscience,  be'^.ause,  being  moved  by  perfect 
love,  it  fulfils  the  will  of  God,  and  does  right  without 
constraint. 

And  is  thf3re,  in  fact,  any  occasion  for  such  constraint? 
Where  love  is  perfect,  the  motive  involved  in  the  con- 
straining power  of  conscience  is  not  felt,  because  it  is 
not  needed.  The  subject  of  such  love  is  re-constituted 
with  a new  element  of  holy  affection,  with  a \o^%-being 
or  love-e:ris^ence,  such  as  it  never  had  before.  It  has 
freely  givsn  itself  to  God  to  be  moved  by  him;  — and  he 


392 


DIVINE  UNION. 


moves  it  by  making  it  a “ partaker  of  the  divine  nature.” 
So  that  from  this  time  such  an  one  may  be  said  to  act  by 
nature^  and  not  by  constraint;  by  a self-moved  life  at 
the  centre,  and  not  by  a compulsive  instigation,  which 
has  no  higher  office  than  to  guard  and  compel  the  centre. 
In  having  a life  of  love,  flowing  first  from  God,  and  then 
from  the  centre  of  our  spirits,  we  have  that  and  the 
whole  of  that  which  the  constraining  instigation  of  con- 
science requires ; and,  this  being  done,  its  office  in  this 
respect  practically  ceases.  It  would  be  a work  of  super- 
erogation to  drive  a soul  which  goes  without  driving. 
Accordingly  it  is  at  once  appeased  in  its  anger,  and  quiet 
in  its  anxiety.  It  lays  aside  its  admonitions  as  well  as  its 
scourge ; and,  as  pleased  with  the  go;.d  as  it  is  displeased 
with  the  wicked,  it  strews  our  path  with  flowers. 

6.  Thus  the  soul  has  rest.  From  that  happy  hour, 
being  re-constituted  with  a love-nature  and  made  love- 
beings,  we  become  also  happy  or  joyous  beings.  And 
this  is  so  much  the  case,  that  happiness,  as  well  as  love 
flowing  out  of  the  depths  of  the  soul,  may  be  said  to  be 
a part  of  our  nature.  What  can  injure  us  ? Conscience 
itself  becomes  the  companion  and  playmate  of  love,  and 
hides  itself  in  its  bosom.  Shielded  by  innocence,  we 
come  to  God  without  fear.  The  soul  expands  itself  as 
confidingly  and  lovingly  to  Goa's  presence  and  favor,  as 
the  flowers  open  to  the  sun.  God,  who  before  appeared 
to  us  in  his  frowns  and  as  a consuming  fire,  now  “lays 
his  terrors  by,”  ^ 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  SIOUL  IN  UNION  RESTS  FROM  DISQUIETING  FEARS. 

Fear,  the  source  of  agitation  and  sorrow.  — The  truly  holy  man  deliv- 
ered from  the  fear  of  want,  sickness,  and  persecution.  — Reference 
to  the  writings  of  John  Climachus.  — All  sinful  fear  of  God  taken 
away. 

It  is  proper  to  fre  said  further,  in  connection  with  this 
subject,  that  the  soul  which  is  brought  into  entire  har- 
mony with  God,  has  rest  from  all  disquieting  fears.  It 
is  a declaration  of  the  Scriptures,  and  is  no  less  evident 
from  one’s  own  consciousness,  that  “/ear  hath  torment?^ 
2 John  4:  18.  In  all  cases,  fear  diminishes  happiness; 
and,  when  it  is  very  great,  it  is  almost  inconsistent  with 
any  degree  of  happiness.  It  produces  distrust ; it  c auses 
agitation ; it  sunders  friendship ; it  alienates  love.  From 
the  wretchedness  connected  with  this  state  of  mind,  the 
holy  man  has  true  rest;  and  no  other  man  has. 

2.  Among  other  things  which  tend  to  illustrate  these 
general  views,  we  proceed  to  remark,  that  the  holy  man 
is  delivered  from  the  fear  of  want.  The  unrighteous 
man  fears  that  he  will  come  to  want,  because  he  has  no 
faith.  On  the  contrary,  where  faith  and  love  are  perfect, 
bread  will  not  fail.  God  will  multiply  the  widow’s  ves- 
sel of  oil,  or  send  his  ravens,  as  he  did  to  the  famishing 
prophet,  when  his  people  who  trust  in  him  are  hungry. 
“ I have  been  young,”  says  the  Psalmist.  “ and  now  am 


394 


DIVINE  UNION. 


old ; yet  have  I not  seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his 
seed  begging  bread.’’  Ps.  37 : 25. 

It  is  proper  to  add  here,  it  is  not  the  mere  fact  that 
God  will  provide  for  his  people,  which  delivers  from  fear,- 
but  the  beliefs  the  full  confidence,  that  he  will  do  it. 
And  this  is  not  all.  The  people  of  God  are  willing  to 
suffer  want,  are  willing  to  be  as  the  Saviour  was,  who 
had  no  place  to  lay  his  head,  if  God  sees  it  best.  In 
connection  with  such  feelings,  it  is  impossible  for  fear  to 
exist. 

3.  Again,  the  man  who  in  the  exercise  of  faith  is  fully 
united  to  God,  is  delivered  from  the  fear  of  sickness  and 
death.  Undoubtedly,  in  themselves  considered,  sickness 
and  death  are  afflictions.  The  truly'devoted  and  godly 
man  understands  this  as  well  as  others.  But  fully 
believing  that  all  things  work  together  for  the  good  of 
those  v/ho  love  God,  he  is  freed  from  anxiety.  He  wel- 
comes suffering,  when  God  sends  it,  in  whatever  form  it 
may  come.  The  physical  suffering  and  weakness  which 
attend  upon  sickness,  become  means  of  growth  in  grace ; 
and,  so  far  from  being  causes  of  complaint,  are  welcomed 
and  rejoiced  in  as  the  forerunners  of  increased  purity 
and  happiness.  And  while  many  are  constantly  subject 
to  bondage,  through  fear  of  death,  the  holy  man  looks 
upon  it  as  the  end  of  sorrow  and  the  beginning  of  glory. 

4.  The  man,  in  whom  the  divine  nature  is  reconsti- 
tuted, is  freed  from  the  fear  of  his  fellow-man.  It  is  one 
of  the  artifices  of  Satan  to  attack  holy  men  through  the 
aids  of  those  who  are  unholy ; by  employing  their  lips 
in  the  utterance  of  evil  surmises  and  falsehoods,  and 
sometimes  by  exciting  them  to  more  open  attacks.  The 
holy  man  leaves  his  cause  with  God.  He  would  not 
plead  it  himself  if  he  could.  He  stands  without  fear,  as 
Christ  did  before  the  bar  of  Pilate,  in  the  sublimity  of  a 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


396 


triumphant  silence.  He  rejoices  in  spirit  Knowing  that, 
at  the  appointed  time,  when  faith  and  patience  have  had 
their  perfect  work,  he  shall  hear  the  voice  of  his  own 
great  Defender. 

Nay  more,  armies  of  men,  as  well  as  individuals,  have 
ceased  to  cause  terror.  Dungeons,  which  nations  have 
erected,  bring  no  alarm.  He  has  no  fear,  because  he 
finds  the  defence  of  the  future  in  the  history  of  the  past. 
The  walls  of  cities  have  fallen  before  the  voice  of  the 
Lord.  Brazen  gates  have  been  sundered.  Iron  chains 
have  been  separated  like  flax  at  the  touch  of  fire.  What 
has  been,  will  be.  No  power  can  hurt  him,  because 
infinite  power  is  his  protection.  And  even  if  there  is  no 
direct  interposition,  and  evil  men  are  allowed  to  triumph 
for  a time,  the  sense  of  suffering  is  overwhelmed  and  lost 
in  the  joy  that  he  is  accounted  worthy  to  suffer. 

5.  And,  what  is  greater  than  all,  he  has  rest  from  the 
fear  of  the  divine  displeasure.  John  Climachus,^^  one 
of  the  devout  and  learned  anchorites  of  Mount  Sinai,  in 
referring  to  the  inward  state  of  a holy  man  with  whose 
history  he  had  become  acquainted,  represents  the  divine 
grace  to  have  been  so  marked  and  powerful  in  its  opera- 
tions as  to  have  taken  away  from  him  apparently  even 
the  fear  of  God.  Although  such  expressions  are  liable 
to  be  misunderstood,  it  is  beyond  question  that  they  are 
susceptible  of  a meaning  which  involves  an  important 
truth.  It  is  a universal  truth,  applicable  in  all  times  and 
situations,  and  not  a particular  truth  limited  to  specific 
cases,  that  perfect  love  casts  out  fear, Love  and  fear, 
in  their  very  nature,  are  antagonistical  principles.  Where 
love  rules,  fear  is  extinguished.  The  triumph  of  the  one 
is  necessarily  the  exclusion  of  the  other. 

* CEuvres  de  S.  Jean  Climaqne,  Abbe  du  Mont  Sinai,  comprenant 
LTchelle  Sainte,  &c.  Degre,  29. 


396 


DITINE  UNION. 


6.  But,  in  laying  down  this  universal  principle,  we 
must  have  a regard  to  the  meaning  of  terms.  The  fear 
which  is  based  upon  the  consciousness  of  guilt,  is  a dif- 
ferent thing  from  that  fear  which  is  synonymous  with 
reverence.  It  is  certain,  where  love  is  perfected  in  the 
heart,  that  all  fear  which  results  from  sin  is  extinguished. 
In  that  sense  of  the  term,  or  rather  with  that  limitation 
of  the  use  of  the  term,  the  holy  man  ceases  to  fear.  God 
has  no  sooner  merged  the  character  of  a judge  in  that  of 
a friend,  than  the  man  of  God  delights  to  be  with  him, 
and  to  converse  with  him.  It  is  no  more  his  nature  to 
flee  from  God  under  the  influence  of  sinful  fear,  than  it 
is  the  nature  of  an  innocent  child  to  flee  from  its  mother. 
He  rests,  like  calm  and  helpless  infancy,  on  the  arm  that 
is  wreathed  with  lightnings.  The  lightnings  have  no 
terror  for  innocence ; but  rather,  divested  of  everything 
which  can  harm  it,  they  shine  like  flowers,  and  play 
round  it  like  sunbeams.  But  to  those  who  are  in  a state 
of  fear,  originating  in  sin,  they  retain  the  terrors  of  their 
original  nature,  smiting  with  a power  which  rends  the 
rocks  in  pieces,  and  burning  with  a consuming  fire. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  SOUL  IN  UNION  RESTS  PROM  CONFLICTS  WITH  PROVIDENCE. 

The  sinful  man  at  war  with  Providence.  — The  holy  man  in  harmony 
with  Providence.  — Of  the  extent  of  God’s  providence.  — It  extends 
to  natural  things,  to  events,  to  feelings.  — In  all  these  things,  and  in 
others,  the  holy  man  is  in  harmony  with  Providence  and  at  peace. 

The  sinful  man  has  no  true  peace,  among  other  sources 
of  disquiet,  because  his  position  is  at  variance  with  Prov- 
idence. One  view  to  he  taken  of  sin,  is,  that  it  is  war. 
It  is  not  only  war  against  God’s  character,  but  against 
his  commands ; not  only  war  against  his  commands,  but 
against  his  providential  arrangements.  God  has  one 
way  and  plan  of  arrangement;  the  sinful  man,  who  is 
in  a state  of  rebellion  against  God,  has  another  plan. 
The  centre  of  God’s  arrangements  is  benevolence  or  the 
kve  of  all;  the  centre  of  the  sinful  man’s  arrangements 
is  the  inordinate  love  of  himself.  Radiating  from 
such  different  centres,  the  plans  which  are  formed  con- 
tinually come  in  conflict.  Under  such  circumstances  it 
is  impossible  that  the  sinner  should  have  rest.  Finding 
himself  face  to  face  in  opposition  to  what  God  has  deter- 
mined, and  thus  in  conflicting  lines  of  movement,  he  is 
continually  met  and  counteracted,  continually  smitten 
and  driven  back.  His  life  is  a warfare  commenced  and 
carried  on  under  the  most  hopeless  circumstances;  a war* 
fare  attended  everywhere  and  unceasingly  with  discom- 
fiture and  suffering. 

34 


39S 


DIVINE  UNION. 


2.  On  the  contrary,  the  man  who  is  united  with  Gjka 
in  the  possession  of  a common  central  feeling,  is  neces 
sarily  united  with  him  in  all  the  movements  and  arrange- 
ments which  he  makes.  In  other  words,  he  rests  from 
the  perplexities  and  uncertainties  of  making  his  own 
choice,  by  accepting,  under  all  circumstances,  the  choice 
which  his  heavenly  Father  has  made  for  him.  With  the 
exception  of  sin,  God’s  choice  never  varies,  and  never 
can  vary,  from  the  facts  and  incidents  of  that  state  of 
things  which  now  exists.  And  it  is  this  choice,  however 
painful  it  may  be  in  some  of  its  personal  relations,  which 
the  godly  man  takes  and  sanctions  as  his  own.  So  that 
his  choice  being  already  made  by  the  unvarying  adop- 
tion of  that  which  is  from  God,  he  may  be  said  not  to 
have  any  preference  of  his  own,  but  to  rest  from  his  own 
choice,  that  he  may  repose  in  God’s  choice.  And  God’s 
choice  is  only  another  name  for  his  providence.  There 
is,  therefore,  no  conflict ; there  never  can  be  any. 

3.  God’s  providence  extends  both  to  things  and  events 
Inanimate  nature,  even  in  the  lowest  forms,  is  under  the 
divine  care.  Not  a rock  is  placed  without  a hand  that 
placed  it.  Not  a tree  grows  without  a divine  vitality, 
which  is  the  inspiration  of  its  growth.  Not  a wave  of 
the  ocean  rolls  without  the  power  of  God’s  presence  to 
propel  it.  The  storms  and  the  earthquakes  are  the 
Lord’s. 

God  is  thus  the  life  of  nature.  And  the  man  who  is 
in  harmony  with  God,  has  no  controversy  with  him  in 
any  of  these  things.  On  the  contrary,  he  accepts  all,  is 
at  peace  with  all. 

4.  God  is  also  the  life  of  events,  including  in  that 
term  human  actions.  There  is  no  good  action  which  is 
not  from  God.  The  wisdom  of  the  Supreme  mind  is 
the  good  man’s  inspiration.  And,  on  the  other  hand 


THE  soul's  rest  IN  UNION. 


399 


there  is  no  evil  action  which  God  does  not  notice,  and 
over  which  he  has  not  some  degree  of  control.  The 
essence  of  evil  actions,  it  is  well  understood,  is  the  evil 
motive  from  which  they  proceed^  — a motive  which  is  not 
and  cannot  be  from  God ; but  still,  God  will  not  allow 
the  action,  which  proceeds  from  the  motive,  to  take 
effect,  except  in  the  manner  and  the  degree  which 
pleases  him.  In  other  words,  God  has  the  prerogative, 
which  can  pertain  only  to  an  infinite  being,  of  overruling 
evil,  and  of  bringing  good  out  of  it.  So  that  there  is  a 
providence  of  evil  as  well  as  a providence  of  good.  And 
hence,  the  good  man  can  be  in  peace  even  when  the  evil 
man  triumphs,  because  he  knows  that  the  “ triumphing 
of  the  wicked  is  short.’’ 

5.  Again,  God’s  providence  is  internal  as  well  as  ex- 
ternal. He  is  the  inspirer  of  the  feelings  of  the  heart  as 
well  as  the  director  and  controller  of  outward  events. 
Our  thoughts  and  feelings  are  from  God,  so  far  as  they 
are  right  thoughts  and  right  feelings.  Accordingly,  the 
man  who  is  fully  united  with  God,  rests  from  all  anxiety 
in  relation  to  the  particular  form  or  mode  of  his  inward 
experience.  . Among  the  various  thoughts  and  feelings 
which  are  right  and  good,  he  has  no  choice.  For 
instance,  he  does  not  desire  inward  joys,  nor  great  illumi- 
nations of  mind,  nor  freedom  and  gifts  of  utterance ; but 
desires  and  accepts  only  that  degree  of  light  and  joy, 
whether  more  or  less,  which  God  sees  fit  to  send.  It  is 
true  we  are  directed  to  covet  “the  best  gifts,”  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  those  gifts  are  the  best  which  God 
selects  and  gives.  In  everything,  in  gifts  and  the  exer- 
cise of  gifts,  for  time  and  for  eternity,  the  wise  man 
chooses  for  himself  what  God  chooses  for  him : which  is 


* 1 Cor.  12  : 31. 


400 


DIVINE  UNION. 


the  same  as  to  say  that  he  rests  from  choice,  or  that  he 
is  without  choice.  God’s  providence  is  his  guide. 

6.  Rest,  or  pacification  in  God’s  providences,  implies 
and  secures  the  fact  of  rest  or  peace  in  other  things, 
which  have  an  indirect  relation  to  his  providences.  For 
instance,  he  who  is  at  peace  with  Providence,  has  rest 
from  vain  and  wandering  imaginations.  He  is  unlike 
other  persons  in  this  respect,  who  constantly  recur  in 
their  imaginations  to  other  scenes  and  other  situations, 
and  people  them  with  a felicity  which  is  the  creation  of 
their  own  minds.  If  his  imagination  ever  goes  beyond 
the  sphere  which  Providence  has  assigned  him,  it  does  so 
under  a divine  guidance,  and  not  at  the  instigation  of 
unholy  discontent. 

7.  Again,  he  who  is  at  peace  with  Providence  expe- 
riences, as  one  of  the  incidental  results  of  his  position  in 
this  respect,  a peace  or  rest  from  feelings  of  envy.  The 
occasion  of  envy  is  the  existence,  or  supposed  existence, 
of  superiority  in  others.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  for 
him  to  envy  others,  because,  viewing  all  things  as  he 
does  in  the  light  of  God,  he  does  not  and  cannot  believe 
that  the  situation  of  others  is  better  than  his  own. 
Accordingly,  he  is  at  rest  from  the  agitations  of  this 
baneful  passion. 

8.  He  has  rest  also  from  easily  offended  and  revenge- 
ful feelings.  If  he  has  been"  injured  by  another,  he 
knows  that  his  heavenly  Father,  without  originating  the 
unholy  impulse,  has  seen  fit,  for  wise  reasons,  to  direct 
its  application  against  himself.  He  receives  the  blow  with 
a quiet  spirit,  as  one  which  is  calculated  to  strengthen 
his  own  piety,  while  he  has  pity  for  him  who  inflicts  it. 
Considered  in  relation  to  himself,  he  accepts  all,  approves 
all,  rejoices  in  all.  In  the  remarkable  language  of  the 
aj  ostle  Paul,  which  precisely  describes  his  situation,  he 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


401 


“ suffers  long  and  is  kind ; he  envies  not ; is  not  easily 
provoked;  thinketh  no  evil;  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity, 
but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ; beareth  all  things,  believeth 
all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things.”  1st 
Corinthians,  ch.  13. 

34* 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  SOUL  IN  UNION  RESTS  FROM  THE  ANXIETIES  OF  LABOR. 

Definition  of  the  term  labor.  — As  thus  defined,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  labor  in  heaven.  — In  the  sense  of  the  term,  as  explained,  the  truly 
holy  man  rests  from  labor.  — Keasons  of  this  view.  — First,  God 
works  in  him.  — Second,  his  labor  is  inspired  by  love.  — Third,  he  is 
sure  of  success.  — Fourth,  it  is  the  natural  tendency  of  holiness  to 
diffuse  itself.  — Fifth,  God  rewards  him  by  sharing  his  burden. — 
Kemarks. 

There  is  another  point  of  view,  in  which  the  subject 
may  properly  be  presented  to  notice.  In  addition  to  the 
elements  of  rest  already  mentioned,  the  soul  which  is 
fully  the  Lord’s  may  be  said  also  to  rest  from  labor. 
This  depends  in  part,  however,  upon  the  meaning  which 
we  attach  to  the  term  labor.  As  the  term  is  commonly 
understood,  it  implies  some  degree,  more  or  less  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances,  of  forethought  and  calculation, 
strivings  of  the  will,  and  physical  effort.  But  this  is 
not  all.  It  implies,  also,  not  ®nly  effort,  but  pain.  There 
is  something  unpleasant  in  it.  In  this  view  of  the  im- 
port of  the  term,  God  does  not  labor ; angels  do  not  labor; 
nor  do  glorified  saints.  There  is  obviously  no  such 
thing  as  labor  of  this  sort  in  heaven.  There  is  life;  there 
is  activity ; everything  is  done  which  ought  to  be  done  ; 
but  all  labor  which  involves  pain  ceases. 

2.  And,  to  a considerable  extent,  these  views  are  true 
of  the  holy  man  in  the  present  life.  He  does  not  cease 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION.  403 

to  be  active,  and  to  do  what  the  providence  of  God  calls 
him  to  do ; on  the  contrary,  cooperating  with  God  in  the 
great  work  of  redemption,  he  finds  and  knows  no  idle 
moments;  but  still,  the  work  which  he  does,  ceases  so 
far  to  possess  the  ordinary  attributes  of  labor,  that  he 
may  be  said,  in  a certain  sense,  to  cease  from  labor. 

It  will  be  kept  in  mind  by  the  reader,  that  this  is  not 
said  of  the  sinful  man,  nor  of  the  partially  sanctified 
man,  but  of  the  man  whose  soul,  freed  from  the  separa- 
tions of  self,  has  passed  into  a state  of  entire  union  Avith 
God.  Undoubtedly  the  rest,  which  is  experienced  even 
by  such  an  one,  is  not  so  perfect,  in  consequence  of  the 
imperfections  and  hindrances  of  the  body,  as  it  will  be 
hereafter ; but  still,  it  is  so  real  and  great,  and  besides, 
so  naturally  results  from  the  principles  involved  in  holy 
living,  that  it  deserves  to  be  noticed. 

3.  One  reason  that  the  labor  of  the  truly  holy  man 
ceases  to  be  labor,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term,  is, 
that  there  is  a divine  power  working  in  him.  The  Infi- 
nite Mind  is  necessarily  the  life  of  the  created  and  finite 
mind,  so  long  as  sin  does  not  separate  them  from  each 
other.  Man  is  the  instrument,  in  which  and  through 
which  God  works.  The  Saviour  himself  said,  ^^I  can 
of  myself  do  nothing.”  The  wonderful  power  which 
was  manifested  in  him,  in  his  incarnate  state,  had  its 
source  in  his  Father,  from  whom,  in  the  exercise  of  faith, 
he  continually  drew  divine  strength.^^  The  language  of 
Paul  and  of  other  holy  men,  who  derived  their  strength 
from  God  through  Christ,  is,  “ I can  do  all  things  through 
Christ  which  strengtheneth  me.”  Philipp.  4:  13.  There 
is  an  inward  conviction,  a consciousness  felt  in  the 
depths  of  the  pious  man’s  spiritual  nature,  that  virtue  has 
a necessary  alliance  with  power,  and  that  the  good  man 


* See  Acts,  Ch.  1 .*  3,  and  other  passages  of  similar  import. 


404 


DIVINE  UNION. 


never  can  be  deserted.  God,  who  inspires  this  remark- 
able conviction,  is  pledged,  both  by  nature  and  by  prom- 
ise, to  see  it  realized.  And  thus  the  man  of  God,  who 
feels  this  increased  strength,  finds  that  easy  which  would 
otherwise  be  hard  to  him. 

4.  Another  reason  why  the  labor  of  the  holy  man, 
whose  soul  is  in  union  with  God,  ceases  to  be  labor  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term,  is,  that  his  labor  is  in- 
spired by  love.  The  labor  of  those  who  do  everything 
from  love,  is  a very  different  thing  from  the  labor  of 
those  who  act  exclusively  or  chiefly  from  the  impulse  of 
conscience  and  the  forced  efforts  of  the  will.^  The  single 
circumstance  of  labor’s  being  originated  with  or  without 
the  inspiration  of  the  heart,  makes  all  possible  difference. 
The  labor  of  the  partially  sanctified  man,  who  stirs  him- 
self to  action  by  reasonings  and  reflections,  and  by  the 
efforts  of  the  will,  is  the  recreation,  the  happiness  of  the 
holy  man.  The  holy  man  works  without  knowing  that 
he  works ; because  love  converts  what  would  otherwise 
be  work  into  the  spontaneous  activity  of  a pleased  and 
joyous  nature.  In  doing  what  he  loves  to  do,  he  labors 
just  as  much  as  the  birds  do  when  they  fly  in  the  air 
and  sing;  and  just  as  much  as  the  angels  do,  whose 
nature  it  is  to  fulfil  the  commands  of  their  heavenly 
Father. 

5.  In  saying,  therefore,  that  the  holy  soul  rests  from 
labor,  we  do  not  mean  that  it  rests  from  action;  but 
that  its  action  is  so  easy  and  natural,  so  harmonious  at 
the  same  time  with  the  desires  of  the  soul  and  with  the 
arrangements  of  Providence,  that  it  is  exempt  from  the 
attributes  of  pain  and  distastefulness  which  are  com- 
monly associated  with  labor. 

6.  Another  reason  that  the  labor  of  the  holy  man 
ceases  to  be  labor,  is  this;  he  knows  that  he  will  be 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


405 


prospered  in  'vihat  he  does;  in  other  words,  that  his 
‘4abor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.”  There  are  many 
promises  to  this  effect.  But  this  is  not  all.  He  knows 
that,  when  God  imposes  on  his  people  something  to  be 
done,  it  is  not  merely  to  secure  a particular  outward 
result,  but  also,  and  sometimes  chiefly,  for  the  purpose  of 
training  and  disciplining  the  inward  dispositions.  And 
if  he  fails  to  do  the  particular  thing  which  is  required  to 
be  done,  still,  if  the  effort  has  resulted  in  the  trial  and 
strengthening  of  his  faith  and  obedience,  he  has  his 
reward.  He  is  sure  of  success  in  one  way  or  the  other. 
This  imparts  a joyousness  of  spirit,  which  gives  a new 
character  to  his  toil.  Labor,  which  is  enlivened  by  the 
joy  of  anticipated  fruition,  is  rendered  by  that  circum- 
stance so  delightful,  that  it  virtually  ceases  to  be  labor. 

7.  Again,  true  holiness  acts  and  influences  by  its 
innate  tendencies.  It  merely  wants  opportunities  of  ac- 
tion, and  not  appliances  and  instigations  to  action.  It  is 
not  the  language  of  Scripture,  make  thy  light  shine,  but 
let  thy  light  shine.  In  partially  sanctified  hearts,  where 
the  light  is  comparatively  small,  there  is  a disposition, 
which,  hoA^ever,  in  itself  considered,  is  not  to  be  blamed, 
to  set  the  light  off  to  the  best  advantage,  to  place  it  in 
favorable  positions,  to  increase  it  by  concentrating  it  in 
and  reflecting  it  abroad  on  the  multitude,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  persons  of  good  reputation.”  This 
is  laudable  under  the  circumstances.  But  if  the  light 
were  full  and  bright  at  the  centre,  there  would  not  be 
need  of  this  additional  labor  at  the  circumference.  And 
the  reason  of  this  remark  is,  thxt  it  is  the  nature  of  holi- 
ness to  diffuse  itself,  if  there  are  no  obstacles  in  the  way. 
It  cannot  conceal  itself,  if  it  would.  The  first  thing 
is  its  existence;  the  next  is,  to  let  it  shine; — not  to 
hide  it,  but  to  let  it  he; — stationed  as  it  is  by  the  wisdom 


406 


DIVINE  UNION. 


of  a heavenly  position  as  well  as  bright  by  a heavenly 
radiance. 

The  light  of  Jesus  Christ  shone  brightly  long  before 
he  commenced  his  public  apostolic  life.  It  shone,  be- 
cause brightness  was  in  his  nature ; and,  therefore,  it 
was  his  nature  to  shine.  When  he  was  very  young,  it 
was  said  of  him,  by  lips  which  repeated  it  to  others,  that 
there  is  a lad  in  the  town  of  NazarOth,  living  in  a poor 
and  retired  family,  who  has  God  with  him.  His  candle 
first  diffused  its  light  in  a very  small  circle ; but  within 
the  limits  of  that  circle  it  shone  freely  and  clearly  in  the 
rays  of  sincere  and  peaceable  dispositions.  He  was  not 
a holy  man,  but  a holy  boy ; and,  being  such,  he  was 
known  and  felt  to  be  such.  As  he  grew  older,  working 
day  by  day  at  the  trade  of  a carpenter,  the  same  unob- 
trusive sincerity,  the  same  forbearance  and  love,  attended 
by  perfect  faith  in  his  heavenly  Father,  attracted  atten- 
tion in  a sphere  somewhat  enlarged,  and  drew  to  him 
some  loving  hearts  that  were  affected  by  the  innate  power 
of  holiness.  Thus,  though  he  came,  as  it  were,  silently, 
without  effort  and  without  observation,  the  light  shone 
from  him  by  its  own  nature ; a light  gentle  but  pure ; 
penetrating  quietly,  but  surely,  in  every  direction;  until 
it  was  whispered  from  the  lips  of  the  faithful,  throughout 
Palestine,  that  a holy  one  had  come.  There  was,  indeed, 
a mystery  resting  upon  him  and  his  character,  because 
he  was  a man  unannounced,  unknown  ; but  still  he  was 
a real  and  divine  presence,  though  indistinctly  felt  and 
appreciated,  even  before  he  appeared  publicly  and  au- 
thoritatively as  the  messenger  of  God.  His  light  shone 
of  itself 

8.  Again,  the  labor  of  the  holy  man  ceases  to  be  labor, 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term,  not  only  for  the  rea- 
sons which  have  been  mentioned,  but  because  his  humble 


THK  soul’s  rest  in  UNION.  407 

trust  in  God  actually  supplies  the  place,  in  many  cases, 
‘I'f  positive  effort.  In  other  words,  God  does  now  reward 
him  by  actually  sharing  and  lightening  the  burden  which 
is  upon  him.  God,  whc«e  happiness  consists  in  the 
exercise  of  love,  always  delights  to  do  the  work  of  his 
people,  when  the  circumstances  are  such  as  to  allow  him 
to  do  it.  Man’s  first  work,  and,  as  compared  with  others, 
almost  his  only  work,  is  to  return  from  his  sins,  and  to 
enter  into  unjon  with  his  Maker.  From  that  moment  he 
not  only  may,  but  he  ought  to,  give  up  all  anxiety.  God 
^ will  never  desert  him.  God  will  hold  up  and  inspirit  his 
weary  arm.  Even  if  the  body  labors,  the  anxieties  of 
the  spirit  should  cease. 

See  the  father  of  a numerous  family.  Day  after  day 
he  toils  without  ceasing.  Their  food,  their  clothing,  theii 
morals,  their  education,  their  health,  all  successively 
:>ccupy  his  thoughts,  fill  him  with  anxiety,  and  give  him 
no  rest.  He  is  burdened  and  borne  down  to  the  dust, 
because  he  attempts  to  hear  the  burden  alone.  If  he 
were  a man  of  perfect  faith,  he  would  labor  less ; and  at 
the  same  time  with  greatly  improved  results.  His  faith 
would  honor  God,  and  would  secure  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promises.  It  would  make  God  present,  because  it  would 
necessarily  secure  the  cooperation  of  his  loving  nature. 
And  this  is  not  all.  It  would  react  upon  his  own  char- 
acter ; — giving  clearness  to  truth,  submission  in  sorrow, 
strength  in  temptation,  patience  under  rebuke,  and  love 
at  all  times.  So  that,  under  the  purifying  power  of  a 
higher  trust,  an  influence  would  emanate  from  his  own 
character.  His  silence  would  speak.  And  the  inaction 
of  God,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  (that  is  to  say,  the 
silent  and  quiet  operation  of  God  in  the  soul,)  would  do 
more  than  the  activity  of  the  creature. 

9.  Certainly,  in  view  of  such  consider  itions  as  these 


408 


DIVINE  UNION. 


we  have  great  reason  for  saying,  if  we  cannot  safely  say 
anything  more,  that  the  labor  of  the  man  of  God  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  the  labor  of  the  man  of  the 
world.  It  is  exempt,  at  least,  from  all  anxiety.  And 
hence  that  calmness,  which  is  seated  on  his  brow.  Nc 
expression  of  impatience,  no  scowl  of  hatred,  no  frown 
of  anger ; but  a constant  cheerfulness,  which  shows  that 
the  principles  of  faith  and  love  at  the  centre  make  all 
things  easy.  It  is  one  of  the  signs,  therefore,  of  the  truly 
holy  man,  that  he  is  happy  in  his  work ; so  much  so,  that 
under  the  existing  circumstances,  he  could  not  be  equally 
happy  without  work.  So  that,  virtually,  his  work  is  his 
recreation ; his  labor  is  his  play. 


/ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  HOLY  SOUL  HAS  PEACE,  BECAUSE  WHAT  IT  WANTS  IN 
ITSELF  IT  FINDS  IN  GOD. 

The  holy  man  is  dead,  but  has  life  in  God.  — He  ceases  to  act,  but 
God  acts  in  him.  — He  always  suffers,,  but  is  always  happy.  — He 
is  ignorant,  but  has  divine  wisdom.  — He  is  poor,  but  has  riches  in 
God.  — Is  weak,  but  has  strength  in  God.  — Experience  of  Paul. 

As  the  Christian  is  one  who  has  passed  from  a state 
of  nature  to  a state  of  grace,  there  are  expressions  appli- 
cable to  him  which  are  directly  opposite  to  each  other 
in  their  import.  Such  expressions,  used  antithetically, 
are  frequently  employed  in  the  Scriptures.  To  some  of 
these  expressions,  which  will  apply  appropriately  only 
to  the  eminently  devoted  Christian,  we  propose  to  give  a 
little  attention;  and,  in  doing  this,  we  shall  obtain 
another  view  of  the  subject  under  consideration,  and  see 
other  sources  or  elements  of  that  divine  peace,  which 
characterizes  the  holy  soul. 

2.  It  is  said,  for  instance,  that  the  Christian  who  has 
experienced  in  himself  the  highest  results  of  religion,  is 
dead,  and  is  alive  again.  That  is  to  say,  he  is  dead  to 
private  aims  and  private  interests ; dead  to  selfish  pas- 
sions, prejudices  and  pleasures ; dead  to  worldly  reputa- 
tion and  honor.  But,  being  dead  to  himself  and  what- 
ever concerns  himself,  he  is  alive  to  God ; alive  to  the 
aims  and  interests  for  which  Christ  came  down  from 
35 


410 


DIVINE  UNION. 


heaven,  alive  to  the  honor  which  comes  from  God,  and 
from  God  only. 

3.  Again,  it  is  sometimes  said  by  experimental  writers, 
in  relation  to  such  a Christian,  that  he  is  without  action^ 
and  yet  always  acting.  That  is  to  say,  he  has  no  action 
which  comes  from  himself,  — no  action  originated  on 
worldly  principles,  none  which  he  can  call  his  own, — but 
he  is  always  acting  in  harmony  with  Providence;  moving 
as  he  is  moved  upon;  instructed  and  actuated  by  the 
outward  occasions  as  they  are  laid  hold  of  and  inter- 
preted by  the  inward  principle;  retreating,  going  forward, 
or  standing  still,  just  as  the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul 
directs : so  that  it  is  not  more  true  that  he  never  acts 
than  it  is  that  he  always  acts.  Action  is  as  essential 
to  him  as  life;  but  still  it  is  action  in  God  and  for 
God. 

4.  Again,  it  may  properly  be  said  of  the  man  who  is 
truly  regenerated,  and  is  fashioned  anew  into  the  image 
of  Christ,  that  he  is  always  suffering,^  and  yet  always 
happy.  The  natural  and  necessary  opposition  between 
the  state  of  his  own  soul  and  the  condition  of  things 
around  him  causes  affliction.  The  inhabitant  of  a 
dying  body,  and  surrounded  by  a sinning  world,  pierced 
by  the  thorns  of  the  flesh  and  by  the  arrows  of  Satan, 
the  law  of  his  outward  position  and  the  still  lingering 
trials  of  his  fallen  nature  necessarily  constitute  him,  till 
his  last  footstep  on  this  stricken  and  bleeding  earth,  “a 
man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief.’’  But  if, 
in  some  departments  of  his  mental  being,  he  is  always 
suffering,  in  others  he  is  always  happy.  And  he  is  so, 
because,  being  born  of  God  and  made  a partaker  of  the 
divine  nature,  he  cannot  be  otherwise.  In  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  soul,  in  that  part  which  is  central  and 
controlling  to  all  the  rest,  faith  stands  unshaken;  faith 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION.  411 

which  gives  sight  to  the  blind  and  strength  to  tie  weak; 
faitn  which  proclaims  sunshine  after  the  storm,  victory 
after  the  contest,  a present  God  and  everlasting  rest. 

5.  He  is  ignorant^  and  feels  himself  to  be  so,  and  yet 
is  full  of  divine  wisdom.  He  is  ignorant,  comparatively 
speaking,  because  there  are  many  things,  the  knowledge 
of  which  is  not  profitable,  and  which,  therefore,  he  does 
not  seek.  He  cannot  seek  knowledge  in  his  own  will 
any  more  than  he  can  seek  anything  else.  He  can  say 
with  the  utmost  sincerity,  know  nothing;”  because 
all  human  knowledge,  as  compared  with  divine,  is,  and 
must  be,  utter  ignorance.  And  yet,  being  a ‘^son  of 
God,”  and  being  “led  by  the  Holy  Spirit,”  he  feels  that 
he  may  and  will  possess  all  that  knowledge  which  will 
be  necessary  for  him.  If  he  knows  but  little,  he  knows 
enough  ; and  if  he  has  no  knowledge  from  himself,  he 
still  has  God  for  a teacher. 

6.  Of  the  truly  holy  man  it  can  be  said,  also,  he 
poor,  and  yet  he  has  all  riches  ; he  is  poor,  because  he 
sits  loosely  to  the  world,  because  he  cannot  set  his  affec- 
tions upon  it,  and  because  he  has  nothing  which  he  can 
call  his  own.  That,  which  the  world  calls  his^  he  calls 
God^s,  He  has  nothing  but  what  God  gives  him,  and 
if,  in  the  arrangements  of  divine  providence,  God  does 
not  see  fit  to  give  him  anything,  he  is  still  rich  in  the 
possession  of  Him,  who  makes  him  poor.  He  may  be 
said  to  be  desolate  ; but  he  can  never  be  deserted.  He  is 
a poor  son;  but  he  has  a rich  Father ; so  that,  although 
he  has  nothing  in  possession,  he  can  never  come  to 
want.  God  is  his  banker,  who  both  keeps  the  funds, 
and  tells  him  when  and  how  to  draw  for  them ; so  that 
he  is  free  from  care  as  the  birds  of  heaven  and  the  lilies 
of  the  field. 

7.  He  is  weak,^  and  yet  he  has  all  'power.  He  has 


412 


DIVINE  UNION. 


renounced  his  own  strength,  as  well  as  his  own  wisdom. 
But  having  no  power  in  himself,  he  may  be  said  to  have 
all  power  in  God.  He  can  almost  say  with  the  Saviour, 

Thinkest  thou  that  I cannot  now  pray  to  my  Father, 
and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than  twelve  legions 
of  angels?’’  And  He,  who  gives  him  strength,  gives 
him  also  honor ; so  that  he,  who  is  despised  among  men, 
has  all  honor  with  God.  His  name  is  cast  oiit  as  evil 
among  men ; but  it  is  written  and  registered  in  bright 
letters  on  the  heart  of  the  Infinite. 

8.  It  is  in  such  views  that  we  find  an  explanation  of 
the  contrasted  but  triumphant  expressions  of  the  Apostle 
Paul,  in  his  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians:  ^^We  are 
troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  distressed;  we  are  per- 
plexed, but  not  m despair;  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken; 
cast  down,  but  not  destroy ed^ 

For  which  cause,”  he  adds,  ^^we  faint  not;  but, 
though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is 
renewed  day  by  day.  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is 
but  for  a moment,  worketh  for  us  a far  more  exceed- 
ing and  eternal  weight  of  glory ; while  we  look  not  at 
the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are 
unseen;  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal, 
but  the  things  which  are  unseen  are  eternal,” 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  HOLY  SOUL  HAS  PEACE,  BECAUSE  ITS  ACTION  IS  NATURAL 
AND  WITHOUT  EFFORT. 

Natural  action  necessarily  easy  and  quiet  action.  — Illustrations  of  the 
subject.  — The  natural  life  of  the  sinful  man.  — The  natural  life  of 
the  holy  man.  — Of  the  operations  of  a holy  life  when  it  has  become 
a new  nature.  — Of  the  rest  or  peace  which  is  connected  with  the 
state  of  mind.  — Reference  to  Madame  Guyon.  — Remarks. 

We  proceed  further  to  say,  in  the  consideration  of  the 
elements  of  true  spiritual  peace,  that  the  degree  of  peace 
will  correspond  to  the  advancement  of  the  soul  in  holi- 
ness. And  one  reason  of  this,  among  others,  is,  that  the 
new  principle  of  holiness,  when  it  has  become  fully 
engrafted  and  established  in  the  soul,  has  all  the  attri- 
butes of  a new  nature.  It  certainly  is  not  contrary  either 
to  the  facts  or  the  reason  of  the  case,  to  speak  of  the 
ruling  principle,  in  a soul  which  is  fully  united  with 
God,  as  operating  naturally.  And  natural  action, — 
that  is  to  say,  action  flowing  from  nature,  in  distinction 
from  that  which  originates  from  forced  efforts  of  the  will 
made  against  nature,  — is,  of  course,  easy,*  quiet,  peace- 
ful action.  But  it  is  necessary  to  give  some  explana- 
tions of  this  view. 

2.  That  which  acts  naturally  has  a natural  life.  A 
natural  life  is  that  life  which  develops  itself  in  accord- 
ance with  the  principles  of  its  own  nature,  and  which, 
in  doing  so,  is  true  and  harmonious  to  itself.  The  sin- 
35^ 


414 


DIVINE  UNION. 


ner,  in  his  uniegenerated  state,  lives  an!  acts  naturally 
in  sinning ; because  that  which  he  does  is  not  only  his 
own  doing,  but  is  done  voluntarily  and  easily,  and  har- 
monizes with  its  own  central  principle  of  movement. 
The  central  principle  in  fallen  man  is  self.  The  great 
law  of  selfishness,  which  requires  him  to  place  himself 
first,  and  God  and  humanity  under  him,  regulates  all 
his  actions.  From  this  principle,  which  operates  as  an 
internal  and  life-giving  force,  his  actions  flow  out  as 
constantly  and  as  naturally  as  trees  grow  in  a soil  which 
is  appropriate  to  them,  and  as  waters  flow  from  moun- 
tains to  the  ocean. 

3.  A holy  life,  also,  when  it  is  once  fully  and  perma- 
nently established,  is  as  natural  to  those  who  are  holy^  as 
a sinful  life  is  to  those  who  are  sinful.  In  the  mixed^  or 
partly  sanctified  life,  which  is  intermediate  between  the 
sinful  and  the  holy,  there  is  a conflict  of  natures ; and 
we  cannot  well  say,  for  any  length  of  time,  what  the 
true  or  real  nature  of  the  man  is.  But  when  a person 
has  obtained  inward  victory,  when  selfishness  has 
ceased  to  exist,  and  when  also  he  is  freed  from  the  lin- 
gering and  perplexing  influences  of  former  evil  habits, 
he  is  then  the  subject  of  a truly  natural  life.  Just  the 
opposite  of  the  unregenerated  man, — with  a life  as  true 
and  just  as  that  of  the  other  is  untrue  and  unjust, — he  does 
right,  not  by  an  efibrt  which  has  the  appearance,  as  well 
as  the  reality,  of  going  against  nature,  but  becfluse,  with 
his  present  disposition,  he  cannot  do  otherwise.  He  not 
only  loves  God,  but  he  does  it  without  reflecting  on  his 
love,  without  any  effort,  which  would  imply  a conflict 
with  some  inward,  opposing  principle.  He  does  it 
freely,  easily,  and  perfectly;  which  would  n^t  be  the 
case  if  he  did  it  with  conscious  effort,  or  if  his  mind  were 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


415 


diverted  from  the  object  of  his  love  to  reflections  on  the 
love  itself.  Holiness  has  become  a nature, 

4.  It  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  a holy  life,  when  it 
is  not  merely  incipient  but  has  become  a nature,^  that, 
with  the  single  exception  of  that,  which,  in  being  sin,  is 
the  opposite  of  itself,  it  easily  harmonizes  and  sympa- 
thizes with  what  now  is.  In  other  words,  while  the 
inward  fountain  of  holy  love  at  the  heart  is  always  the 
same,  and  always  full,  the  streams  which  flow  from  it. 
repelled  by  opposition,  or  attracted  by  sympathy,  take 
their  course  variously,  in  the  diversified  channels  of 
Providence. 

Accordingly,  harmonizing  with  the  present  objects  of 
his  thoughts  and  affections,  the  holy  man  is  one  in 
nature,  but  diversified  in  manifestation.  He  “weeps 
with  those  who  weep,  and  rejoices  with  those  who 
rejoice.”  Under  the  unerring  impulses  of  the  life  which 
is  from  God,  he  becomes  “ all  things  to  all  men,”  but 
without  losing  the  identity  of  his  character  as  one  united 
with  God,  and  as  being  the  “temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.” 
Instructed  by  the  teachings  of  love,  which  is  the  best  of 
all  teachers,  he  is  a man  of  smiles  or  of  tears,  of  action 
or  of  rest.  He  rests  when  it  is  the  time  to  rest,  because 
rest  in  its  time  is  better  than  toil  out  of  time;  but  he 
labors  when  Providence  calls  him  to  labor,  and  love 
makes  his  labor  sweet.  He  has  a heart  for  humanity, 
and  a heart  for  nature.  More  than  a mere  amateur  of 
the  outward  world,  he  loves  the  rocks  and  the  mountains 
for  their  own  beauty  and  sublimity,  and  for  the  God  that 
dwells  in  them.  His  heart  warms  and  melts  in  the 
summer  sunshine ; but  the  thunder  is  his  also,  and  the 
lightning.  Nothing  is  out  of  place,  because  place  is  sub- 
crdinated  to  the  eternity  and  ubiquity  of  the  life  within 
He  is  a citizen  of  his  country,  and  serves  her  well,  with- 


416 


DIVINE  UNION. 


out  losing  the  evidence  of  his  citizenship  in  heaven ; a 
subject  of  the  powers  that  are  ordained  of  God,  without 
ceasing  to  be  the  subject  of  Him  who  has  ordained  them. 
He  sings  praises  with  the  devoted  Christian,  and  his 
heart  yearns  and  melts  over  the  impenitent  sinner.  In 
his  simplicity,  he  is  the  companion  of  children ; and  in 
his  wisdom,  the  counsellor  of  age.  He  can  sit  at  meat 
with  the  “publican  and  sinner,’’  or  receive  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  unhumbled  Pharisee ; and,  in  both  cases,  he 
unites  the  proprieties  of  love  with  the  faithfulness  of 
duty. 

And  all  this,  which  seems  to  imply  contradiction,  and 
to  require  effort,  is  what  it  is,  in  all  its  ease  and  all  its 
promptness,  because  it  is  not  the  result  of  worldly  cal- 
culation, but  the  infallible  working  of  a divine  nature, 

5.  It  is  important  to  understand  the  view  which  has 
now  been  presented.  The  want  of  a full  understanding 
of  it  has  sometimes  perplexed  those  persons  who  have 
been  led  by  the  Holy  Ghost  into  the  higher  stages  of 
experience.  They  doubt  their  love,  because  they  find  it 
so  easy  and  natural  to  love.  The  suggestion  arises  in 
their  minds,  because  the  perception  of  their  own  work- 
ing is  lost  in  the  fact  of  God’s  working,  that  perhaps 
nothing  is  done  at  all.  Certain  it  is  that  their  present 
state  is  very  different  from  their  former  state,  when  they 
were  but  beginners  in  the  religious  life. 

Formerly,  their  life  was  a divided  one.  The  inward 
struggle  was  almost  incessant.  Comparatively  speak- 
ing, there  was  no  rest,  no  peace.  But  now^  the  unity 
of  their  affections  in  God  has  put  an  end  to  all  interior 
trouble,  except  so  far  as  the  soul  is  tried  by  temptations 
originating  from  without.  Formerly,  they  found  the 
service  of  God,  both  in  its  inward  and  outward  forms, 
obstructed  and  hard,  requiring  the  greatest  effort.  But 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


417 


now  they  rejoice  in  God  always,  as  if  they  had  no  other 
business,  and  no  other  desire.  Formerly,  they  could 
hardly  eat,  or  speak,  or  move,  without  great  anxiety,  in 
consequence  of  finding  sin  intermingled  with  everything. 
But  now  they  find  the  grace  of  God  sufficient  for  the 
regulation  of  the  appetites  and  the  social  principles ; and 
those  things  which  were  once  occasions  of  temptation 
and  sorrow,  are  noio  occasions  of  gratitude.  Formerly, 
they  conformed  their  actions  to  God,  who  was  a God 
afar  off; — and  this  was  troublesome,  because  the  agency 
was  in  a great  degree  in  themselves.  But  now  God, 
who  dwells  within,  conforms  the  soul  to  the  action ; and 
thus  they  are  not  conscious  either  of  effort  or  trouble. 
In  a word,  “ their  yoke  is  easy,  and  their  burden  is 
lights 

6.  These  remarks  call  to  mind  something  which  we 
have  noticed  in  the  writings  of  Madame  Guyon.  Ail 
nature  conveyed  to  her  a lesson  of  religion  ; — the  woods, 
the  waters,  the  flowers,  every  living  and  moving  thing. 
Hence  her  beautiful  lines  to  the  swallow : — 

I am  fond  of  the  swallow ; — I learn  from  her  flight, 

Had  I skill  to  improve  it,  a lesson  of  love. 

How  seldom  on  earth  do  we  see  her  alight ! 

She  dwells  in  the  skies,  she  is  ever  above.” 

She  saw  a great  deal  of  God  in  the  birds,  and  in  the 
sheep,  and  in  the  oxen,  and  in  all  the  various  lower 
animals  that  live  and  move  around  us.  And  she  repeat- 
edly says  of  herself,  that  she  seemed  to  be  like  them ; — 
meaning  that  there  was  something,  in  the  operations  of 
her  own  inward  life,  which  led  her  to  sympathize  with 
them.  The  explanation  of  what  she  says  is  this:  — 
The  life  of  the  lower  animals  is  not  a device,  a calcula- 
tion, but  a nature.  They  move,  as  they  are  moved  by 


418 


DIVINE  UNION. 

that  instinctive  power  within  them,  which  obviously  has 
Its  origin  in  something  out  of  themselves.  The  life  of 
animals,  although  it  is  not  elevated  to  the  rank  of  moral 
life,  IS  yet  a life  from  God.  And  it  was  her  clear  per- 
ception of  this,  which  led  her  to  study  their  habits,  and 
to  sympathize  with  them  so  much.  She  saw  in  them 
God’s  life  existing  as  a nature.  The  life  of  God  in  her 
own  soul,  though  greatly  superior  in  kind,  was  like  that 
of  animals,  in  one  respect,  — it  had  become  a nature  to 
her.  And  it  seemed  to  her  to  operate  much  in  the  same 
way  and  with  the  same  certainty  that  the  instincts  operate 
in  the  lower  animals.  It  was  not  more  natural  and  easy 
for  the  swallow  to  lift  its  wing,  and  to  ascend  in  a clear 
summer  sky,  than  for  her  own  soul  to  ascend  and  unite 
itself  with  God. 

7.  And  how  wonderful  her  inward  peace  was,  all 
know  who  are  acquainted  with  her  history.  She  gives 
us  expressly  to  understand  that  she  did  not  undertake 
to  regulate  herself  by  the  common  human  methods; 
conscious  as  she  was  that  God,  by  a new  law  of  life, 
had  become  her  inward  regulator.  And  she  was  thus 
freed  from  a thousand  anxieties  and  dangers. 

And  it  is  obvious  how  greatly  this  state  of  things 
must  contribute  to  the  true  peace  and  rest  of  the  soul  in 
all  cases.  Happy,  thrice  happy,  is  such  a man ! His 
countenance  is  cheerful,  because  he  has  joy  in  his  heart. 
If  he  seems  to  do  nothing,  it  is  because  God  works  in 
him.  If  his  burden  is  light,  it  is  because  God  bears  it. 
Satan,  envious  of  their  happiness,  sometimes  says  to 
such,  Ye  are  deceived.  Why  do  ye  not  fast,  as  did 
John’s  disciples?”  But  Jesus  replies  now,  as  he  replied 
in  former  times : — Can  the  children  of  the  bridecham- 
her  fast,  while  the  bridegroom  is  with  them?^^ 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  SOUL  IN  UNION  WITH  GOD  HAS  REST,  BECAUSE  IT  HAS 
PASSED  FROM  THE  MEDITATIVE  TO  THE  CONTEMPLATIVE 
STATE. 

The  iontemplative  state  naturally  preceded  by  the  meditative.  — Some 
account  of  the  meditative  state.  — This  state  implies  effort,  and  some 
degree  of  pain.  — Nature  of  the  contemplative  state.  — Particulars 
in  which  it  differs  from  the  meditative  state.  — In  all  cases  it  is 
natural  and  easy.  — Of  the  fixedness  or  permanency  of  the  contem- 
plative state.  — The  beauty  and  wonderful  effects  of  this  state. 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  a soul  which  is  brought 
into  union  with  God,  is  that  it  is  contemplative.  This 
is  so  much  the  case,  that  it  seems  to  be  proper  here  to 
give  some  explanations  of  a state  which  is  eminently 
delightful  and  profitable ; and  especially  because  it  is 
in  this  state  of  mind  that  we  find  one  of  the  elements 
and  sources  of  that  divine  peace  which  we  have  been 
endeavoring  to  explain. 

2.  We  shall  the  better  understand  the  contemplative 
state,  if  we  keep  in  mind  that  it  is  naturally  preceded 
by  the  meditative  state.  Every  religious  man  knows 
what  it  is  to  direct  his  thoughts  to  God ; in  other 
words,  to  meditate  upon  him  and  upon  those  objects 
which  are  closely  connected  with  him.  In  the  medita- 
tive state,  the  religious  man  not  only  holds  God  in  view 
by  means  of  the  meditative  act,  namely,  by  acts  of  per- 
ception and  reflection  upon  the  divine  character ; but  he 


420 


DIVINE  UNION. 


always  does  it  with  more  or  less  of  mental  effort;  — that 
is  to  say,  by  a definite  and  formal  act  of  the  will  So 
that  the  meditative  state,  though  necessary  and  import- 
ant in  its  place,  is  in  some  degree  painful.  And  hence 
it  is,  that  meditation,  in  order  to  render  the  mental 
operation  more  easy  and  effective,  is  generally  under- 
stood to  imply  and  to  require  a particular  time  to  be  set 
apart,  and  also  a particular  place  remote  from  interrup- 
tion. Meditation,  therefore,  though  very  necessary,  is 
not  in  all  respects  a natural  state;  and,  consequently, 
implying  as  it  does  a degree  of  effort  and  of  resistance 
against  other  tendencies,  does  not  appear  to  be  entirely 
consistent  with  the  highest  rest  and  peace  of  the  soul. 

3.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  contemplative  state. 
Contemplation,  in  the  religious  sense  of  the  term,  is 
meditation  perfected.  Considered  as  a religious  state, 
contemplation,  without  formally  aiming  at  the  discovery 
of  new  truths  in  relation  to  God,  is  a calm  dwelling 
upon  him  in  thought,  as  he  is  already  known  to  the 
mind,  attended  with  faith,  with  such  new  views  also  as 
are  naturally  and  easily  presented,  and  with  affectionate 
exercises  of  the  heart.  And,  accordingly,  it  differs  from 
the  meditative  state  in  a number  of  respects ; some  of 
which  we  shall  now  proceed  to  mention. . 

4.  Contemplation,  like  the  meditative  state,  has  an 
object  towards  which  it  is  especially  directed,  and  that 
object  is  God,  But  the  remark  to  be  made  here  is  this. 
While  it  is  like  the  meditative  state  in  the  sameness  of 
its  object,  it  is  unlike  it  in  another  particular ; namely,  it 
is  not  propelled  towards  its  object,  if  we  may  so  speak, 
by  a forced  effort  of  the  will ; but  is  rather  gently  and 
sweetly  attracted  towards  it  by  the  perception  of  its 
innate  loveliness.  The  contemplative  man,  therefore, 
in  consequence  of  being  in  perfect  union  with  God, 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


421 


dwells  upon  him,  in  his  acts  of  contemplation,  with  a 
sweet  quietude  or  rest  of  spirit,  of  which  the  merely 
meditative  man  is,  in  a greater  or  less  degree,  destitute. 

5,  Another  point  of  difference  is  this.  The  meditative 
man  dwells  upon  God  as  a God  limited  or  particular; 
— that  is  to  say,  as  circumscribed  by  the  limitations 
of  form  and  locality.  The  contemplative  man,  on  the 
contrary,  dwells  upon  him  as  a God  universal.  But 
this  remark  requires  some  explanation. 

The  common  idea  of  God  not  only  ascribes  to  him  the 
attribute  of  personality,  — an  attribute  which  is  essential 
to  all  correct  views  of  him  under  all  circumstances,  — 
but  also  assigns  to  him  a form,  and  places  him  as 
having  form  in  some  definite  and  distant  locality;  — 
as  dwelling,  for  instance,  within  the  walls  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  as  shut  up  within  golden  gates,  or  as  seated 
on  a lofty  white  throne  of  celestial  beauty.  This  con- 
ception of  the  Divinity,  which  appears  to  be  the 
common  one  at  first,  is  probably  well  suited  to  the 
earlier  stages  of  religious  experience,  when  the  mind  is 
just  beginning  to  recover  itself  from  the  weakness  and 
blindness  of  sin.  And  we  may  say,  further,  there  is 
great  truth  in  it  as  far  as  it  goes, — but  it  is  not  the  whole 
truth.  It  is  true,  that  God  occupies  place;  and  that 
place  may  be  here,  or  there,  or  anywhere;  but  it  is 
equally  true,  that  he  is  not  limited  to  place.  It  is  true 
that  God  may  assume  form ; and  that,  on  special  occa- 
sions and  for  special  reasons,  he  has  assumed  it ; but  it 
is  equally  true,  that  form  is  not  essential  to  him.  So 
that,  when  our  conception,  relieved  from  the  embarrass- 
ments of  sin,  expands,  so  as  to  correspond,  in  some 
degree,  to  the  magnitude  of  the  object,  we  find  him  not 
under  one  form  only,  but  under  all  forms ; not  in  one 
place  merely,  but  in  all  places.  Everywhere  the  Divin- 
36 


422  DIVINE  UNION. 

ity  which  was  before  veiled  by  unbelief,  emerges  into 
light.  But  he  is  still  a personal  God,  though  infinite 
in  the  varieties  of  form,  infinite  in  the  multiplications 
of  place ; though  seen  and  recognized  cy  faith  in  every 
tree,  and  plant,  and  rock,  and  flower ; in  every  star,  in 
the  wandering  moon,  in  the  bright  sun,  in  the  floating 
cloud,  in  the  wide  and  deep  sea,  in  insects  and  birds, 
and  the  wild  beasts  of  the  mountains,  in  men,  in  angels, 
in  all  things,  beings  and  places.  It  is  God  thus  revealed 
in  his  universality  that  we  call  God  universal^  in  dis- 
tinction from  God  local, 

6.  The  meditative  man  attaches  himself  to  the  God 
local;  the  contemplative  man  attaches  himself  to  the 
God  universal.  But  to  do  the  first,  namely,  to  seek 
God  in  a particular  place,  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
places,  requires  effort,  and  is  in  some  degree  painful; 
because  we  must  seek  him  ^‘as  a God  afar  off.’’  The 
latter,  namely,  to  commune  with  him  in  all  places  and 
in  all  objects,  — supposing  ourselves  to  have  arrived  at 
the  appropriate  state,  and  the  adequate  power  to  be 
given  us,  — is  natural  and  easy;  because,  finding  God 
even  without  seeking  him  at  all,  we  contemplate  him  as 
\ God  present.  Being  in  the  midst  of  places  and  objects, 
none  of  which  are,  or  can  be,  separate  from  a divine 
presence,  all  the  soul  has  to  do  is  to  look  and  love. 
Calmly  and  sweetly  it  casts  its  eye  upon  every  object 
which  is  presented  to  its  notice,  and  it  finds  itse.f  dwell- 
ing upon  God  in  alL 

7.  The  contemplative  state,  like  that  of  meditation, 
is,  for  the  time  being,  b,  fixed  state.  That  is  to  say,  the 
mind  unites  itself  firmly  and  fixedly  with  its  appro- 
priate object  for  a length  of  time.  In  the  highest 
degrees  of  sanctification,  it  becomes  almost  a permanent 
state.  It  may  be  broken  temporarily  by  the  pressure 


THE  SOUL  S REST  IN  UNION. 


423 


of  care  and  worldly  business.  But  it  is  the  natural  ten- 
dency of  the  truly  holy  mind,  when  left  to  itself,  to  fall 
into  this  state.  That  is  to  say,  in  every  object  the  con- 
templative man,  who  cannot  be  truly  contemplative 
without  being  truly  holy,  catches  a new  glimpse  of  the 
Divinity ; and  has  no  heart  to  leave  it,  until  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  Providence  call  him  to  other  objects  where  he 
has  new  revelations  of  the  divine  nature,  and  new  exer- 
cises and  intimacies  of  love. 

8.  To  him  who  has  this  deeper  insight  and  this 
higher  unity,  God  breathes  in  the  vernal  zephyr,  and 
shines  brightly  in  the  summer’s  sun;  he  sees  him 
moulding  and  painting  the  fruits  of  autumn,  and  send- 
ing the  hoar-frosts  and  piling  up  the  snows  of  winter; 
all  inanimate  nature  is  full  of  him.  He  sees  God,  also, 
in  what  is  ordinarily  called  the  work  of  men’s  hands. 
It  is  God  that  spreads  his  pillow; — it  is  God  that  builds 
his  house;— it  is  God  that  ploughs  his  fields;  — it  is 
God  that  sells  for  him  and  buys  for  him ; — God  gives 
him  pain,  and  sends  him  joy,  — smites  him  when  he  is 
sick,  and  heals  him  when  he  gets  well. 

And  what  God  does  for  himself,  he  does  also  for  others, 
and  for  communities.  He  sees  God  in  all  the  changes 
which  take  place  around  him.  It  is  God  that  builds  up 
and  puts  down,  — that  makes  kings  and  makes  sub- 
jects, — that  builds  up  one  nation  and  destroys  another, 
— that  binds  the  chains  of  the  captive  and  gives  liberty 
to  the  free,  — that  makes  war  and  makes  peace.  All 
men,  and  princes,  and  nations,  are  in  his  hands  like 
clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter.  His  eternal  will, 
which,  in  being  established  on  the  basis  of  eternal  wis-^ 
dom  and  justice,  never  has  changed  and  never  can 
change,  dashes  them  to  pieces,  or  fashions  them  to  ever- 


424 


DIVINE  UNION. 


lasting  life.  All  things  are  his,  sin  only  excepted^  and 
sin  is  sin^  because  it  is  not  of  God. 

9.  What  blessed  results  would  follow,  if  all  men, 
arrived  at  the  state  of  holy  contemplation,  had  that  faith 
which  deprives  God  of  form,  and  displaces  him  from  a . 
particular  locality,  in  order  that,  being  without  form,  he 
may  attach  himself  to  all  forms^  and  that,  being  without 
place,  he  may  be  found  present  in  all  places.  Such  a 
faith,  if  it  would  not  at  once  carry  us  up  to  the  New 
Jerusalem,  would  do  that  which  amounts  to  much  the 
same  thing,  — it  would  bring  the  New  Jerusalem  down 
io  earth,  and  would  expand  its  golden  walls  and  gates 
to  the  limits  of  the  world  and  of  the  universe.  And  I, 
Tohn,  saw  the  holy  city,  New  Jerusalem,  coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a bride  adorned 
for  her  husband.  And  I heard  a great  voice  out  of 
heaven,  saying.  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 
7ien^  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his 
people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and.be 
their  God.  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
their  eyes ; and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither 
sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  anjr  more 
pain ; for  the  former  things  are  passed  away.’’ 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OF  THE  SP.RIT  AND  PRACTICAL  COURSE  OF  THE  MAN  WHO  IS 
AT  REST  IN  GOD. 

The  man  of  inward  peace  is  previously  the  subject  of  the  same  inwaid 
contest  at  others.  Some  particulars  in  which  he  is  now  at  rest.  — 
Effect  on  his  outward  appearance.  — Such  men,  more  than  others, 
bear  the  crue  image  of  God.  — Expansion  of  their  feelings.  — Prac- 
tical remarks. 

The  religiously  quiet  man,  like  other  men  less  ad- 
vanced in  grace,  has  experienced  the  sharpness  of  the 
inward  contest;  but  God  has  helped  him.  Having 
striven  with  his  corrupt  nature,  having  passed  through, 
as  it  were,  the  storms  of  regeneration,  he  has  at  last 
entered  into  the  haven  of  inward  rest. 

Inwardly  instructed  in  the  limitations  of  the  human 
understanding,  he  rests  from  reasonings  in  all  cases 
where  reasoning  owes  homage  to  faith.  God  is  his  rea- 
son. Taught  by  the  great  Teacher  of  the  soul,  that  the 
true  end  of  desires  is  to  be  found  in  the  wisdom  of  the 
Infinite,  he  quietly  ceases  from  all  those  desires  which 
have  their  origin  in  a corrupted  nature,  and  finds  all  his 
aims  and  purposes  harmonized  and  fulfilled  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  God’s  purposes.  God  is  his  desire.  While  he 
condemns  sin,  he  is  not  impatient  with  it ; but  bears  with 
it  in  the  same  spirit  of  calmness  that  God  does ; never 
doubting  that,  in  the  great  issue  of  things  which  is  rap- 
idly approaching,  the  unity  and  love  of  God  will  over- 
36^ 


426 


DIVINE  UNION. 


come  the  divisions  and  hatreds  of  Satan.  Devoted  to  the 
will  of  God  to  the  extent  of  his  power,  and  resting  firmly 
upon  the  promises  in  unshaken  faith,  he  is  exempt  alike 
from  the  reproofs  of  conscience  and  the  agitations  of 
fear. 

2.  A divine  peace,  of  which  God  alone  could  be  the 
author,  is  written  upon  his  heart,  his  countenance,  his 
actions,  his  whole  life.  The  outward  man  is  the  calm 
mirror  of  the  man  within.  He  sees  the  commotions  of 
the  world ; he  beholds  the  surges  and  hears  the  noise  of 
its  contentions ; but  it  does  not  move  him  from  his  posi- 
tion ; it  does  not  alter  the  fixedness  of  his  purpose ; it 
does  not  disturb  the  peace  of  his  spirit.  His  counte- 
nance, written  over  with  signatures  which  have  their 
source  in  the  centre  of  his  spirit,  shows  neither  the  scowl 
of  anger,  nor  the  distortions  of  fear.  Not  that  he  is  in- 
different to  the  strife ; but  he  believes  and  knows  that  the 
God  in  whom  he  trusts  has  power  to  control  it.  He  sees 
the  calm  beyond. 

3.  Such  men,  more  than  any  others,  bear  the  image 
of  God;  whose  mighty  power  is  established  and  operates 
in  peace  and  in  silence.  A perfect  being  is,  by  the  very 
fact  of  his  perfection,  unalterably  tranquil.  Jesus  Christ, 
who  was  God  revealed  in  humanity,  and  who,  there- 
fore, was  the  model  of  the  perfect  man,  was  a quiet  man; 
he  did  not  attract  the  world’s  notice  by  his  noise.  On 
the  contrary,  the  world,  disappointed  that  he  came  with- 
out observation,  was  attracted  to  him,  contrary  to  what 
is  usual  with  it,  by  the  calm  but  mighty  inffuence  of  his 
purity  and  gentleness.  Meek,  quiet,  loving,  doing  what 
the  divine  order  of  things  called  him  to  do,  he  gave  no 
occasion  for  reconsiderations  and  repentance,  but  left  the 
evidence  of  his  divinity  in  the  perfection  of  everything 
he  said  and  did.  And  in  all  cases  will  it  be  found,  in 


4?7 


THE  SOUIl’s  rest  IN  UNION. 

the  h story  of  all  good  men  of  all  ages,  that  the  harmony 
of  thought  with  truth,  of  feeling  with  thought,  and  of 
conscience  with  feeling ; in  other  words,  the  perfect  ad- 
justment of  character,  will  find  its  result  and  its  testimony 
in  inward  and  outward  peace. 

4.  Happy,  then,  is  the  man,  of  whom  it  can  be  said, 
in  the  scriptural  sense  of  the  terms,  he  is  quiet  in  spirit; — 
a state  of  mind  which  can  exhibit  itself  in  the  most  try- 
ing situations,  and  with  more  effect  and  beauty  perhafs 
than  on  other  occasions.  Smite  the  quietist  on  one 
cheek,  and  he  turns  the  other.  Drive  him  from  his 
home,  and  the  smile  of  his  cheerful  heart  lights  the  walls 
of  a cavern  or  a dungeon.  He  returns  love  for  hatred, 
blessing  for  cursing.  When  dying  by  the  hand  of  his 
enemies,  his  language  is,  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do.” 

5.  “In  quietness,”  says  Isaiah,  “shall  be  strength.” 
The  quiet  man  is  necessarily  victor,  — conquering  by  the 
force  of  sentiments  which  are  eternal,  and  not  by  the 
incidents  of  situation  which  are  perpetually  changing. 
It  is  not  the  body  which  constitutes  the  man,  but  the 
divine  principle  at  the  centre.  A man  is,  according  to 
\\is  faith.  And  the  man,  who  treads  the  dungeon  or  the 
scaffold,  with  the  acquiescent  belief  that  it  is  the  allot- 
ment of  Providence,  is  no  prisoner,  because  he  has  all 
the  freedom  which  he  asks,  and  can  lose  nothing  by  the 
death  which  he  himself  cheerfully  welcomes.  He  con- 
quers by  that  power  to  suffer  which  is  given  him  through 
faith.  And  the  power,  which  renders  him  victorious, 
gives  him  divine  peace  and  happiness. 

6.  It  remains  only  to  be  added,  that  the  man  who 
rests  in  God,  by  having  the  principles  of  his  nature 
brought  into  harmony  with  the  divine  nature,  cannot  be 
restricted  by  the  limitations  of  name  or  country ; but  has 


428 


DIVINE  UNION. 


a spirit  which  belongs  to  the  world.  It  is  true  his  specu- 
lative beliefs  may  harmonize  in  certain  directions  more 
than  in  others;  but,  bearing  Christ’s  image  at  the  centre, 
he  belongs  to  Christ  rather  than  a party,  and  all  man- 
kind are  his  brethren.  The  turbulence  of  nature  has 
given  place  to  the  pacifications  of  grace,  in  order  that  he 
may  extend  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  those  of 
every  name  and  every  clime. 

7.  In  this  connection,  although  it  might  have  been 
equally  appropriate  in  some  other  place,  we  wish  to 
make  a remark  of  some  practical  importance.  It  is  this, 
(iuietness  of  spirit,  originating  in  the  operations  of  divine 
grace,  is  the  sign  of  truth  or  rectitude  of  spirit,  and  also 
of  a right  course  of  action.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
spirit  disturbed,  a spirit  in  a state  of  agitation,  is  the  sign 
of  a wrong  done,  or  of  a wrong  proposed  to  be  done. 
Accordingly,  in  any  proposed  course  of  action,  if  it  can- 
not be  entered  upon  with  entire  quietness  of  spirit,  with 
a soul  so  entirely  calm,  that,  in  its  measure,  it  may  be 
said  to  reflect  unbrokenly  the  image  of  God,  then  the 
probability  is  that  the  course  proposed  to  be  taken  is 
wrong,  or,  at  least,  of  a doubtful  character ; and  our  true 
and  safe  course  is  to  delay,  until  we  can  obtain  further 
light  in  regard  to  it. 

This  view  is  founded  upon  the  relation  existing  be- 
tween quietness  of  spirit  and  faith.  And  it  seems  to  us 
to  harmonize  with  the  remark  of  the  apostle,  that  ^^whaU 
soever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin.^^  Rom.  14:  23. 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


429 


WHEN  FROM  THE  HEART  ITS  ILLS  ARE  DRIVEN. 

When  f rom  the  heart  its  ills  are  driven, 

And  God,  restored,  resumes  control, 

The  outward  life  becomes  a heaven, 

As  bright  as  that  within  the  soul. 

Where  once  was  pride  and  stern  disdain, 

And  acts  expressing  fierce  desire, 

The  eye,  that  closest  looks,  in  vain 
Shall  seek  the  trace  of  nature’s  fire. 

No  flame  of  earth,  no  passion  now. 

Has  left  its  scorching  mark  behind ; 

But  lip,  and  cheek,  and  radiant  brow. 

Reflect  the  brightness  of  the  mind. 

'M 

For  where  should  be  the  signs  of  sin. 

When  sin  itself  has  left  the  breast ; 

”VVTien  God  alone  is  Lord  within. 

And  perfect  faith  gives  perfect  rest  f 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  SOUL  IN  PEACE  IS  THE  TRUE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD; 

Importance  of  the  subject.  — Explanations  of  the  term  kingdom.  — Its 
universality.  — Applied  especially  to  the  human  soul.  — Three  char- 
acteristics of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  soul,  namely,  it  recognizes 
but  one  authority ; God  rules  in  it  and  over  it  j it  constantly  renders 
him  the  highest  homage.  — When  the  kingdom  of  God  is  set  up  in 
the  human  heart,  it  is  set  up  everywhere.  — Of  the  connections  ex- 
isting in  the  material  and  mental  world.  — The  material  and  animal 
creation  restored  at  the  same  time  with  man. 

In  bringing  this  interesting  and  important  subject  to  a 
conclusion,  we  have  only  one  thing  more  to  add,  namely, 
that  the  soul  in  peace  is  the  true  kingdom  of  God.  Such 
it  is  virtually  asserted  to  be  in  the  Scriptures ; and  such 
it  is  in  fact.  And,  if  this  be  the  case,  it  is  important  to 
understand  and  appreciate  an  idea,  which  is  interesting 
in  itself,  and  is  susceptible  of  applications  which  are  not 
less  so. 

In  saying  that  the  soul  is  God’s  kingdom,  it  shouJd  be 
kept  in  mind  that  the  term  kingdom  is  relative  in  its 
meaning.  It  implies  the  idea  of  a governor,  as  well  as 
of  that  which  is  governed.  Accordingly,  it  is  not  only 
the  place  where  the  king  dw3lls,  but  the  place  of  the 
king’s  authority.  It  is  not  onlj  the  king’s  home,  which 
is  the  original  meaning  of  the  term,  but  the  place  which 
the  king  rules  over. 

2.  In  a certain  sense  God  rules  everywhere.  There 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION.  431 

is  no  place  Avhere  he  does  not  dwell.  Nor  is'  there  any 
place  which  excludes  his  authority.  He  rules  in  hell  as 
well  as  in  heaven.  He  rules  also  over  all  earthly  things; 
over  things  material  as  well  as  immaterial.  He  rules 
over  all  moral  beings.  He  rules  over  men. 

3.  Undoubtedly  there  is  an  universal  kingdom ; — a 
kingdom  including  all  things.  But,  ordinarily,  when  we 
speak  of  God’s  kingdom  on  earth,  we  mean  his  spiritual 
kingdom,  — the  kingdom  of  mind,  and  not  of  matter ; the 
kingdom  of  hearts,  and  not  of  outward  forms  and  locali- 
ties. The  divine  throne,  erected  everywhere,  is  espec- 
ially and  emphatically  erected  in  man’s  spirit.  The  soul 
of  man,  a fit  subject  for  the  divine  administration,  always 
is,  when  renovated,  and  always  ought  to  be,  God^s  king- 
dom. Hence  the  remarkable  expression  of  the  Saviour : 
“ The  Kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.” 

4.  But  in  speaking  of  the  human  soul  as  a fit  subject 
for  the  divine  administration,  and  in  saying  that  it  ought 
to  be  God’s  kingdom,  we  imply,  that,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, by  doing  or  being  what  it  ought  not  to  do  or 
ought  not  to  be,  it  is  not  God’s  kingdom.  And  thus  we 
come  to  our  proposition.  It  is  the  soul  in  peace,  (that 
peace  which  the  Saviour  speaks  of  when  he  says,  “Peace 
I leave  with  you,  my  peace  I give  unto  you,”)  the  soul 
in  peace^  and  not  under  any  other  circumstances,  which 
constitutes,  in  the  truest  and  highest  sense,  the  kingdom 
of  God.  “ For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  the  Ho  'y  One  of 
Israel,  In  returning  and  rest  shall  ye  be  saved.  In  quiet- 
ness and  confidence,  [that  is  to  say,  in  the  quietness  and 
peace  of  faith^]  shall  be  your  strength.”  Isa.  30 : 15. 

5.  A soul  in  peace  is  the  true  kingdom  of  God,  among 
Other  things,  because  it  recognizes  hut  one  authority.  Its 
eye  is  “single;”  looking  in  one  direction,  and  having 
knowledge  of  but  one  master.  It  feels  the  deep  import 


432 


DIVINE  UNION. 


of  the  Saviour’s  words,  cannot  serve  God  and 

Mammon.”  And  while  it  recognizes  but  one  authority, 
in  distinction  from  a two-fold  or  divided  authority  over 
it,  it  cheerfully  submits  to  that  authority  and  harmonizes 
with  it.  It  thinks  what  God  thinks,  desires  what  God 
desires,  wills  what  God  wills. 

On  the  other  hand,  a soul  not  at  peace  is  one  which 
is  rebellious  against  its  rightful  master,  or  which 
wickedly  proposes  to  serve  two  rival  masters  at  the  same 
time. 

6.  Again,  a soul  in  peace  is  the  kingdom  of  God, 
because  God  rules  in  it  and  over  it.  It  is  true,  his 
government  is  sustained,  not  so  much  by  positive  and 
outward  enactments,  as  by  the  perfect  adjustment  of 
affectional  and  moral  relations.  But  still  it  is  a true 
government,  although  carried  on  less  by  force  than  by 
the  truth  mutually  communicated  and  received,  and  by 
love  harmonizing  with  love.  In  the  truly  peaceful  soul, 
the  life  of  God,  including  that  which  is  perceptive  as 
well  as  that  which  is  affectional,  seems  to  be  reflected  in 
the  life  of  the  creature.  God  is  not  more  a living  speaker 
to  the  soul  than  the  soul,  in  a state  of  peace,  is  a living 
auditor.  Moment  by  moment  he  communicates  his  will 
inwardly  by  a spiritual  operation ; and  the  intimations 
of  his  will  are  obeyed,  by  the  soul  which  receives  them, 
in  the  very  moment  of  their  communication.  And  this 
divine  obedience  is  the  obedience  of  harmony  rather  than 
of  compulsion;  the  obedience  of  a subordinate  nature 
yielding  to  and  mingling  with  a higher  and  originative 
nature,  through  the  influence  of  that  beautiful  attraction 
which  always  exists  between  kindred  natures ; but  it  is 
still  that  true  and  perfect  obedience  which  God  approves. 

7.  In  the  third  place,  the  soul  in  the  state  of  true 
peace  or  rest,  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  because  it  con- 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION. 


433 


stantly  renders  him  the  highest  homage.  And  it  does  so, 
because  its  state  of  peace  or  rest  is  the  result,  and  may 
be  said  to  be  the  completion,  of  every  other  state.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  a soul,  in  such  a state,  to  make  costly 
sacrifices,  to  go  to  distant  places,  or  to  bow  in  temples, 
as  if  the  true  homage  of  the  heart  could  be  rendered  only 
or  chiefly  by  outward  acts.  Wherever  it  is,  provided  it 
is  where  God  in  his  providence  requires  it  to  be,  it  is 
itself  the  highest  worship  and  homage  of  God.  The 
Infinite  Mind  delights  in  it,  as  a soul  continually  offering 
to  himself  the  highest  reverence  and  praise.  The  state 
of  holy  peace  is  more  than  that  of  penitence,  because, 
although  penitence  implies  a sorrow  for  sin,  it  does  not 
necessarily  imply  a conquest  over  sin.  It  is  more  than 
good  desire,  because  such  desires  are  not  acceptable  in 
the  sight  of  God  without  faith  attending  them.  It  is 
more  than  faith,  because  it  is  the  end,  of  which  faith  is 
the  means  or  instrument.  It  is  more  than  gratitude, 
because  it  includes  gratitude,  as  a whole  includes  a part. 
It  is  the  result,  the  expression,  the  completion  of  the 
whole.  It  is  man,  harmonizing  with  God.  It  is  God, 
dwelling  and  living  in  man. 

He,  therefore,  who  is  in  true  peace  of  spirit,  is  a con- 
tinual worshipper.  He  is  himself  his  temple,  and  his 
heart  is  his  altar.  The  fire  is  always  burning;  the 
incense  always  ascends. 

8.  It  remains  to  be  added,  that  God,  in  being  restored 
to  the  human  soul  and  made  at  peace  with  it,  not  only 
sets  up  his  kingdom  in  man,  but  in  other  things  with 
which  man  is  essentially  connected.  When  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  restored  in  the  human  heart,  it  is  restored 
everywhere.  It  should  not  be  forgotten,  that  the  world, 
m all  its  varieties,  is  but  one  system ; a connection  obvi- 
ously running  through  all  its  parts;  each  part  being 
37 


434 


DIVINE  UNION. 


sustained  by  and  harmonizing  with  the  others.  The 
mineral  kingdom  has  a definite  relation  to  the  vegetable; 
the  vegetable  to  the  animal ; the  animal  to  the  sentient ; 
and  the  sentient  to  the  moral.  They  expand  and  devel- 
op themselves  in  progression,  and  with  an  infinity  of 
ties  and  relations.  They  are  parts  of  one  great  and  har- 
monious system  of  arrangements,  conceived  by  one  per- 
fect wisdom,  and  sustained  by  one  perfect  love.  The 
completion  of  all  is  in  man.  He  stands  at  the  head, 
and  if  all  are  made  for  man,  it  is  equally  true  that  man 
is  made  for  all. 

Time  and  God’s  grace  will  make  this  great  truth  bettei 
understood  than  it  is  at  present.  There  is  no  isolation 
in  the  universe,  except  what  is  made  by  sin.  There  is  a 
true  and  noble  sense  in  which  Adam  and  all  created 
things  around  him  were  one.  There  is  a sense  in  which 
Adam  and  all  his  posterity  were  one.  There  is  a sense 
in  which  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  and  all  his  redeemed 
children  are  one. 

9.  When  man  M-,  nature  fell.  The  flowers  wept, 
and  bowed  their  heads  in  sorrow.  The  beasts  and  the 
birds,  that  once  loved  him,  now  fled  away  from  him. 
And  the  reverse  will  be  true,  when  man  returns  again. 
All  nature,  sympathizing  with  the  restoration  of  its  head, 
will  wipe  away  its  tears  and  put  on  its  smiles,  whenever 
man  arises  from  the  dust.  Life  will  return ; and  beauty 
will  return  with  life.  The  cessation  of  mental  death 
will  be  crowned  with  the  return  of  physical  health  and 
strength,  which  will  be  experienced  in  outward  nature 
as  well  as  in  man’s  person.  The  curse  of  thorns  and 
thistles”  will  be  revoked,  because  man,  on  whose  account 
It  was  inflicted,  will  be  restored  to  favor.  Instead  of 
the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir-tree,  and  instead  of  the 
brier  shall  come  up  the  myrtle  tree.  The  trees  shall 


THE  soul’s  rest  IN  UNION.  435 

clap  their  hands ; and  the  hills  and  the  mountains  shall 
break  forth  into  singing.” 

Fear,  also,  shall  he  taken  away  from  the  beasts  of  the 
field.  The  bond  of  union,  beginning  with  man  in  his 
restoration  to  God,  will  extend  everywhere.  The  infu- 
sion of  love  flowing  from  God  to  man  will  be  felt  in 
every  part  of  creation.  The  birds  will  sing  with  a hap- 
pier note.  “ The  wolf  shall'  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and 
the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ; and  the  calf 
and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fading  together;  and  a little 
child  shall  lead  them.”f 

“ See  truth,  love,  and  mercy  in  triumph  descending. 

And  nature  all  glowing  in  Eden’s  first  bloom ; 

On  the  cold  cheek  of  death  smiles  and  roses  are  blending, 
And  beauty  immortal  awakes  from  the  tomb.” 


Isa.  55 : 12,  13 


tisa  11:  6. 


fHf'' 


I 


